JAPANESE 


FAIRY  WORLD. 


Stories  from  the  Wonder-lore  of    Japan 


by 


WILLIAM  ELLIOT  GRIFFIS, 


AUTHOR  OF  "THE    MIKADO  S    EMPIRE. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY   OZAWA,    OF    TOKIO. 

DIVERSITY) 


fM   SCHENECTADY,  N,  Y. 


toF0B,^MMKS 


S   H.   BARHYTE. 


i^O 


Entered  ;iccording  to  an  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
By  William  Elliot  Griffis, 
in  the  Librarian's  Office  at  Washington. 


Daily  Union 
Steam  Printing  House, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


4 


The  thirty-four  stories  included  within  this  volume 
do  not  illustrate  the  bloody,  revengeful  or  licentious 
elements,  with  which  Japanese  popular,  and  juvenile 
literature  is  saturated.  These  have  been  carefully 
avoided. 

It  is  also  rather  with  a  view  to  the  artistic,  than  to 
the  literary,  products  of  the  imagination  of  Japan,  that 
the  selection  has  been  made.  From  my  first  acquaint- 
ance, twelve  years  ago,  with  Japanese  youth,  I  be- 
came an  eager  listener  to  their  folk  lore  and  fireside 
stories.  When  later,  during  a  residence  of  nearly 
four  years  among  the  people,  my  eyes  were  opened 
to  behold  the  wondrous  fertility  of  invention,  the 
wealth  of  literary,  historic  and  classic  allusion,  of 
pun,  myth  and  riddle,  of  heroic,  wonder,  and  legend- 
ary lore  in  Japanese  art,  I  at  once  set  myself  to  find 
the  source  of  the  ideas  expressed  in  bronze  and  por- 
celain, on  lacquered  cabinets,  fans,  and  even  crape 
paper  napkins  and  tidies.  Sometimes  I  discovered 
the  originals  of  the  artist's  fancy  in  books,  sometimes 
only  in  the  mouths  of  the  people  and  professional 
story-tellers.  Some  of  these  stories  I  first  read 
on  the  tattoed  limbs  and  bodies  of  the  native  foot- 
runners,  others  I  first  saw  in  flower-tableaux  at  the 
street  floral  shows  of  Tokio.     Within    this  book  the 


Lh3 


IV  PREFACE. 

reader  will  find  translations,  condensations  of  whole 
books,  of  interminable  romances,  and  a  few  sketches 
by  the  author  embodying  Japanese  ideas,  beliefs  and 
superstitions.  I  have  taken  no  more  liberty,  I  think, 
with  the  native  originals,  than  a  modern  story-teller 
of  Tokio  would  himself  take,  were  he  talking  in  an 
American  parlor,  instead  of  at  his  bamboo-curtained 
stand  in  Yanagi  Cho,  (Willow  Street,)  in  the 
mikado's  capital. 

Some  of  the  stories  have  appeared  in  English  be- 
fore, but  most  of  them  are  printed  for  the  first  time. 
A  few  reappear  from  The  Independent  and  other 
periodicals. 

The  illustrations  and  cover-stamp,  though  engraved 
in  New  York  by  Mr.  Henry  W.  Troy,  were,  with 
one  exception,  drawn  especially  for  this  work,  by  my 
artist-friend,  Ozawa  Nankoku,  of  Tokio.  The  pic- 
ture of  Yorimasa,  the  Archer,  was  made  for  me  by 
one  of  my  students  in  Tokio.  . 

Hoping  that  these  harmless  stories  that  have  tickled 
the  imagination  of  Japanese  children  during  untold 
generations,  may  amuse  the  big  and  little  folks  of 
America,  the  writer  invites  his  readers,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  native  host  as  he  points  to  the  chop- 
sticks and  spread  table,  0  agari  nasai. 

W    E.  G. 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  28th,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  The  Meeting  of  the  Star  Lovers. 
II.  The  Travels  of  Two  Frogs. 

III.  The  Child  of  the  Thunder. 

IV.  The  Tongue-cut  Sparrow. 
V.  The  Fire-fly's  Lovers. 

VI.  The  Battle  of  the  Ape  and  the  Crab. 
VII.  The  Wonderful  Tea- Kettle. 
VIII.  Peach-Prince  and  the  Treasure  Island. 
IX.  The  Fox  and  the  Badger. 
X.  The  Seven  Patrons  of  Happiness. 
XL  Daikoku  and  the  Oni. 
XII.  Benkei  and  the  Bell. 

XIII.  Little  Silver's  Dream  of  the  Shoji. 

XIV.  The  Tengus,  or  the  Elves  with  Long  Noses. 
XV.  Kintaro,  the  Wild  Baby. 

XVI.  Jiraiya,  or  the  Magic  Frog. 
XVII.  How  the  Jelly-Fish  Lost  its  Shell. 
XVIII.  Lord  Cuttle-Fish  Gives  a  Concert, 
XIX.  Yorimasa,  the  Brave  Archer. 

XX.  Watanabe  cuts  off  the  Oni's  Arm. 
XXI.  Watanabe  Kills  the  Great  Spider. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

XXII.  Raiko  and  the  Shi  Ten  Doji. 

XXIII.  The  Sazaye  and  the  Tai. 

XXIV.  Smells  and  Jingles. 

XXV.  The  Lake  of  the  Lute  and  the  Matchless 

Mountain. 

XXVI.  The  Earthquake  Fish. 

•  XXVII.  The  Dream  Story  of  Gojiro. 
XXVIII.   The  Procession  of  Lord  Long-Legs. 

XXIX.  Kiyohime,  or  the  Power  of  Love. 

"XXX.  The  Fisherman  and  the  Moon -Maiden. 

XXXI.  The  Tide  Jewels. 

XXXII.  Kai  Riu  O,  or  the  Dragon    King  of  the 
World  Under  the  Sea. 

XXXIII.  The  Creation  of  Heaven  and  Earth. 

XXXIV.  How  the  Sun  Goddess  was  Enticed  out  of 

her  Cave. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


54, 


1.  Kaname  holding  down  the    great  Earthquake 

Fish, Stamp  on  cover. 

2.  How  the  Sun-goddess  was  enticed  out  of  her 

Cave,    Frontispiece, 

3.  The   Star-lovers   Meeting   on    the    Bridge    of 

Birds, Faces  page     6. 

4.  The  Egg,  Wasp  and  Mortar  at- 

tack the  Monkey 

5.  The   Oni   submitting  to   Peach 

Prince, 

6.  The  Monkeys  in  Grief,    

7.  Yorimasa  and  the  Night-beast, . . 

8.  The  Fish  Stall  in  Tokio, 

9.  A  Jingle  for  a  Sniff, 

10.  The  Ascent  of  the  Dragon's  Gate, 

11.  The  Sorceress   Melting  the  Bell, 

12.  The  Dragon  King's  Gift  of   the 

Tide  Jewels, "         "  288. 


a            a 

70 

a            it 

150. 

a            a 

176. 

a            tt 

204. 

a            a 

206. 

a            a 

234. 

a            a 

262. 

0?  THE         ^  N\ 


TJKIVEESIT 


THE     MEETING     OF      THE      STAR- 
LOVERS. 


NE  of  the  greatest  days  in  the  cal- 
endar of  old  Japan  was  the 
seventh  of  July  ;  or,  as  the  Jap- 
anese people  put  it,  "  the  seventh 
day  of  the  seventh  month."  It 
was  a  vermilion  day  in  the  almanacs,  to 
which  every  child  looked  forward  with  eyes 
sparkling,  hands  clapping,  and  fingers  count- 
ing, as  each  night  rolled  the  time  nearer. 
&]\  manner  of  fruits  and  other  eatable  vege- 
tables were  prepared,  and  cakes  baked,  in 
the  household.  The  boys  plucked  bamboo 
stalks,  and  strung  on  their  branches  bright- 
colored   ribbons,    tinkling    bells,    and    long 

2 


2  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

streamers  of  paper,  on  which  poetry  was 
written.  On  this  night,  mothers  hoped  for 
wealth,  happiness,  good  children,  and  wis- 
dom. The  girls  made  a  wish  that  they 
might  become  skilled  in  needlework.  Only 
one  wish  a  year,  however,  could  be  made. 
So,  if  any  one  wanted  several  things — - 
health,  wealth,  skill  in  needlework,  wisdom, 
etc. — they  must  wait  many  years  before 
all  the  favors  could  be  granted.  Above  all 
things,  rainy  weather  was  not  desired.  It 
was  a  "  good  sign  "  when  a  spider  spun  his 
web  over  a  melon,  or,  if  put  in  a  square  box: 
he  should  weave  a  circular  web.  Now,  the 
cause  of  all  this  preparation  was  that  on  the 
seventh  of  July  the  Herd-boy  star  and  the 
Spinning  Maiden  star  cross  the  Milky  Way 
to  meet  each  other.  These  are  the  stars 
which  we  call  Capricornus  and  Alpha  Lyra. 
These  stars  that  shine  and  glitter  so  far  up 


THE  MEETING  OP  THE  STAR-LOVERS.      6 

in  the  zenith,  are  the  boy  with  an  ox  and 
the  girl  with  a  shuttle,  about  whom  the 
story  runs  as  follows : 

On  the  banks  of  the  Silver  River  of 
Heaven  (which  we  call  the  Milky  Way) 
there  lived  a  beautiful  maiden,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  the  sun.  Her  name  was  Sho- 
kujo.  She  did  not  care  for  games  or  play, 
like  her  companions,  and,  thinking  nothing 
of  vain  display,  wore  only  the  simplest  of 
dress.  Yet  she  was  very  diligent,  and 
made  many  garments  for  others.  Indeed, 
so  busy  was  she  that  all  called  her  the  Weav- 
ing or  Spinning  Princess, 

The  sun-king  noticed  the  serious  disposi- 
tion and  close  habits  of  his  daughter,  and 
tried  in  various  ways  to  get  her  to  be  more 
lively.  At  last  he  thought  to  marry  her. 
As  marriages  in  the  star-land  are  usually 


4  JAPANESE   FAIRY  WORLD. 

planned  by  the  parents,  and  not  by  the  fool- 
ish lover-boys  and  girls,  he  arranged  the 
union  without  consulting  his  daughter.  The 
young  man  on  whom  the  sun-king  thus  be- 
stowed his  daughter's  hand  wasKingin.  who 
kept  a  herd  of  cows  on  the  banks  of  the 
celestial  stream.  He  had  always  been  a 
good  neighbor,  and,  living  on  the  same  side 
of  the  river,  the  father  thought  he  would 
get  a  nice  son-in-law,  and  at  the  same  time 
improve  his  daughter's  habits  and  disposi- 
tion. 

No  sooner  did  the  maiden  become  wife 
than  her  habits  and  character  utterly 
changed  for  the  worse,  and  the  father  had  a 
very  vexatious  case  of  tadashiku  suguru  ("too 
much  of  a  good  thing")  on  his  hands.  The 
wife  became  not  only  very  merry  and  lively, 
but  utterly  forsook  loom  and  needle.  She 
gave  up  her  nights  and   days  to  play  anrl 


THE  MEETING  OF  THE  STAR-LOVERS.   *   0 

idleness,  and  no  silly  lover  could  have  been 
more  foolish  than  she. 

The  sun-king  became  very  much  offended 
at  all  this,  and  thinking  that  the  husband  ^ 
was  the  cause  of  it,  he  determined  to  sepa-  "^ 
rate  the  couple.  So  he  ordered  the  husband 
to  remove  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  of 
stars,  and  told  him  that  hereaiter  they 
should  meet  only  once  a  year,  on  the  seventh 
night  of  the  seventh  month.  To  make  a 
bridge  over  the  flood  of  stars,  the  sun-king 
called  myriads  of  magpies,  which  thereupon 
flew  together,  and,  making  a  bridge,  sup- 
ported him  on  their  wings  and  backs  as  if 
it  were  a  roadway  of  solid  land.  So,  bid- 
ding his  weeping  wife  farewell,  the  lover- 
husband  sorrowfully  crossed  the  River  of 
Heaven.  No  sooner  had  he  set  foot  on  the 
opposite  side  than  the  magpies  flew  away, 
filling  all  the  heavens  with  their  chatter. 


6  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

The  weeping  wife  and  lover-husband  stood 
for  a  long  time  wistfully  gazing  at  each 
other  from  afar.  Then  they  separated,  the 
one  to  lead  his  ox,  the  other  to  ply  her  shut- 
tle during  the  long  hours  of  the  day  with 
diligent  toil.  Thus  they  filled  the  hours, 
and  the  sun-king  again  rejoiced  in  his  daugh- 
ter's industry. 

But  when  night  fell,  and  all  the  lamps  of 
heaven  were  lighted,  the  lovers  would  come 
and  stand  by  the  banks  of  the  starry  river, 
and  gaze  longingly  at  each  other,  waiting 
for  the  seventh  night  of  the  seventh  month. 

At  last  the  time  drew  near,  and  only  one 
fear  possessed  the  loving  wife.  Every  time 
she  thought  of  it  her  heart  played  pit-a-pat 
faster.  What  if  it  should  rain  ?  For  the 
River  of  Heaven  is  always  full  to  the  brim, 
and  one  extra  drop  of  rain  causes  a  flood 
which  sweeps  away  even  the  bird-bridge. 


THE  STAR-LOVERS  MEETING-  ON"  THE  BRIDGE  OF  BIRDS. 


tffflVEKSlTrj 


THE  MEETING  OF  THE  STAR-LOVERS.      7 

But  not  a  drop  fell.  The  seventh  month, 
seventh  night,  came,  and  all  the  heavens 
were  clear.  The  magpies  flew  joyfully  in 
myriads,  making  one  way  for  the  tiny  feet 
of  the  little  lady.  Trembling  with  joy,  and 
with  heart  fluttering  more  than  the  bridge 
of  wings,  she  crossed  the  River  of  Heaven, 
and  was  in  the  arms  of  her  husband.  This 
she  did  every  year.  The  lover-husband 
staid  on  his  side  of  the  river,  and  the  wife 
came  to  him  on  the  magpie  bridge,  save  on 
the  sad  occasion  when  it  rained.  So  every 
year  the  people  hope  for  clear  weather,  and 
the  happy  festival  is  celebrated  alike  by  old 
and  young. 


THE  TRAVELS  OP  TWO  FROGS. 


^ORTY  miles  apart,  as  the  cranes 
fly,  stand  the  great  cities  of  Ozaka 
and  Kioto.  The  one  is  the  city 
of  canals  and  bridges.  Its  streets  ■ 
are  full  of  bustling  trade,  and  its 
waterways  are  ever  alive  with  gondolas, 
shooting  hither  and  thither  like  the  wooden 
shuttles  in  a  loom.  The  other  is  the  sacred 
city  of  the  Mikado's  empire,  girdled  with 
green  hills  and  a  nine-fold  circle  of  flowers. 
In  its  quiet,  clean  streets,  laid  out  like  a 
chessboard,  walk  the  shaven  monks  and 
gowned  scholars.  And  very  beautiful  is 
Kioto,  with  pretty  girls,  and  temple  gardens, 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  TWO  FROGS.        9 

and  castle  walls,  and   towers,  and  moats  in 
which  the  white  lotus  blooms. 

Long,  long  ago,  in  the  good  old  days  be- 
fore the  hairy-faced  and  pale-cheeked  men 
from  over  the  Sea  of  Great  Peace  (Pacific 
Ocean)  came  to  Japan ;  before  the  black 
coal-smoke  and  snorting  engine  scared  the 
white  heron  from  the  rice-fields ;  before 
black  crows  and  fighting  sparrows,  which 
fear  not  man,  perched  on  telegraph  wires, 
or  ever  a  railway  was  thought  of,  there  lived 
two  frogs — one  in  a  well  in  Kioto,  the  other 
in  a  lotus-pond  in  Ozaka. 

Now  it  is  a  common  proverb  in  the  Land 
of  the  Gods  (Japan)  that  "the  frog  in  the 
well  knows  not  the  great  ocean,"  and  the 
Kioto  frog  had  so  often  heard  this  scornful 
sneer  from  the  maids  who  came  to  draw  out 
water,    with    their     long    bamboo-handled 


10  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

buckets  that  he  resolved  to  travel  abroad 
and  see  the  world,  and  especially  the  tai  kai 
(the  great  ocean). 

"I'll  see  for  myself,"  said  Mr.  Frog,  as  he 
packed  his  wallet  and  wiped  his  spectacles, 
"what  this  great  ocean  is  that  they  talk 
about.  I'll  wager  it  isn't  half  as  deep  or 
wide  as  my  well,  where  I  can  see  the  stars 
even  at  daylight." 

Now  the  truth  was,  a  recent  earthquake 
had  greatly  reduced  the  depth  of  the  well 
and  the  water  was  getting  very  shallow. 
Mr.  Frog  informed  his  family  of  his  inten- 
tions. Mrs.  Frog  wept  a  great  deal ;  but, 
drying  her  eyes  with  her  paper  handker- 
chief, she  declared  she  would  count  the  hours 
on  her  fingers  till  he  came  back,  and  at  every 
morning  and  evening  meal  would  set  out  his 
table  with  food  on  it,  just  as  if  he  were  home. 
She  tied   up  a  little  lacquered  box  full  of 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  TWO  FROGS.        1 1 

boiled  rice  and  snails  for  his  journey,  wrap- 
ped it  around  with  a  silk  napkin,  and,  put- 
ting his  extra  clothes  in  a  bundle,  swung  it 
on  his  back.  Tying  it  over  his  neck,  he 
seized  his  staff  and  was  ready  to  go. 

"Sayonara"  ("Good-bye")  cried  he,  as, 
with  a  tear  in  his  eye,  he  walked  away." 

"  Sayonara,  Oshidzukani"  ("  Good-bye- 
Walk  slowly  "),  croaked  Mrs.  Frog  and  the 
whole  family  of  young  frogs  in  a  chorus. 

Two  of  the  froggies  were  still  babies,  that 
is,  they  were  yet  poly  wogs,  with  a  half  inch 
of  tail  still  on  them ;  and,  of  course,  were 
carried  about  by  being  strapped  on  the  back 
of  their  older  brothers. 

Mr.  Frog  being  now  on  land,  out  of  his 
well,  noticed  that  the  other  animals  did  not 
leap,  but  walked  on  their  legs.  And,  not 
wishing  to  be  eccentric,  he  likewise  began 
briskly  walking  upright  on  his  hind  legs  or 
waddling  on  all  fours. 


12  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

Now  it  happened  that  about  the  same 
time  the  Ozaka  father  frog  had  become  rest- 
less and  dissatisfied  with  life  on  the  edges 
of  his  lotus-ditch.  He  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  "  cast  the  lion's  cub  into  the  valley." 

"Why !  that  is  tall  talk  for  a  frog,  I  must 
say,"  exclaims  the  reader.  "What  did  he 
mean  ?" 

I  must  tell  you  that  the  Ozaka  frog  was 
a  philosopher.  Right  at  the  edge  of  his 
lotus-pond  was  a  monastery,  full  of  Buddhist 
monks,  who  every  day  studied  their  sacred 
rolls  and  droned  over  the  books  of  Confucius, 
to  learn  them  by  heart.  Our  frog  had  heard 
them  so  often  that  he  could  (in  frog  language, 
of  course)repeat  many  of  their  wise  sentences 
and  intone  responses  to  their  evening 
prayers  put  up  by  the  great  idol  Amida. 
Indeed,  our  frog  had  so  often  listened  to 
their  debates  on  texts  from  the  classics  that 


ME  TEAVELS  OF  WO  fftOGS.  18 

he  had  himself  become  a  sage  and  a  philoso- 
pher. Yet,  as  the  proverb  says,  "the  sage 
is  not  happy." 

Why  not  ?  In  spite  of  a  soft  mud-bank, 
plenty  of  green  scum,  stagnant  water,  and 
shady  lotus  leaves,  a  fat  wife  and  a  numer- 
ous  family ;  in  short,  everything  to  make  a 
frog  happy,  his  forehead,  or  rather  gullet, 
was  wrinkled  with  care  from  long  pondering 
of  knotty  problems,  such  as  the  following : 

The  monks  often  come  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  pond  to  look  at  the  pink  and  white 
lotus.  One  summer  day,  as  a  little  frog* 
hardly  out  of  his  tadpole  state,  with  a  small 
fragment  of  tail  still  left,  sat  basking  on  a 
huge  round  leaf,  one  monk  said  to  the  other  ! 

"Of  what  does  that  remind  you  ?" 

"The  babies  of  frogs  will  become  but 
frogs,"  said  one  shaven  pate,  laughing, 

"What  think  you  ?" 


14  JAPANE8K   PAIM  WORLD, 

"The  white  lotus  flower  springs  out  of  the 
black  mud/'  said  the  other,  solemnly,  as  both 
walked  away. 

The  old  frog,  sitting  near  by,  overheard 
them  and  began  to  philosophize  ;  " Humph  j 
The  babies  of  frogs  will  become  but  frogs, 
hey  ?  If  mud  becomes  lotus,  why  shouldn't 
a  frog  become  a  man?  Why  not?  If  my 
pet  son  should  travel  abroad  and  see  the 
world— go  to  Kioto,  for  instance — why 
shouldn't  he  be  as  wise  as  those  shining- 
headed  men,  I  wonder  ?  I  shall  try  it,  any- 
how. I'll  send  my  son  on  a  journey  to  Kioto* 
I'll  'cast  the  lion's  cub  into  the  valley'  (send 
the  pet  son  abroad  in  the  world,  to  see  and 
study)  at  once.  I'll  deny  myself  for  the 
vsake  of  my  offspring*" 

Flump  I  splash !  sounded  the  water,  as  a 
pair  ofwebbyfeet  disappeared.  The  ulion's 
cub"  was  soon    ready,  after  much  paternal 


MGG  TRAVELS  OF   TWO  FfLOGS.  15 

advice,  and  much  counsel  to  beware  of  being 
gobbled  up  by  long4egged  storks^  and  trod 
on  by  impolite  men,  and  struck  at  by  bad 
boys.  "Kio  ni  no  inakd1  ("Even  in  the 
capital  there  are  boors")  said  Father  Prog. 

Now  it  so  happened  that  the  old  frog  from 
Kioto  and  the  "lion's  cub"  from  Ozaka 
started  each  from  his  home  at  the  same 
time.  Nothing  of  importance  occurred  to 
either  of  them  until,  as  luck  would  have  it* 
they  met  on  a  hill  near  Hashimoto,  which 
is  half  way  between  the  two  cities.  Both 
were  footsore,  and  websore*  and  very  tired* 
especially  about  the  hips,  on  account  of  the 
unfroglike  manner  of  walking,  instead  of 
hopping,  as  they  had  been  used  to. 

"Ohio  gozarimasit'  ("Good-morning") 
said  the  "lion's  cub"  to  the  old  frog,  ns  he 
fell  on  all  fours  and  bowed  his  head  to  the 
ground  three  times,  squinting   up   over  his 


16  JAPANESE    FAlJlf  WORLD, 

left  eye,  to  see  if  the  other  frog  was  paying 
equal  deference  in  return, 

"He,  komiichi  way  ("Yes,  good-day")  re^ 
plied  the  Kioto  frog. 

"O  tenki"  ("It  is  rather  fine  weather  to- 
day") said  the  "cub." 

"He%yoi  tenki  gozence"  ("Yes5  it  is  very 
fine")  replied  the  old  fellow. 

"I  am  Gamataro,  from  Ozaka,  the  oldest 
son  of  Hiki  Dono,  Sensui  no  Kami"  (Lord 
Bullfrog,  Prince  of  the  Lotus- Ditch). 

"Your  Lordship  must  be  weary  with  your 
journey.  I  am  Kayeru  San  of  Idomidzu 
(Sir  Frog  of  the  Well)  in  Kioto.  I  started 
out  to  see  the  'great  ocean'  from  Ozaka  ;  but, 
I  declare,  my  hips  are  so  dreadfully  tired 
that  I  believe  that  I'll  give  up  my  plan  and 
content  myself  with  a  look  from  this  hill.,; 

The  truth  must  be  owned  that  the  old 
frog  was  not  only  on  his  bind  legs,  but  also 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  TWO  FROGS.        17 

on  his  last  legs,  when  he  stood  up  to  look  at 
Ozaka ;  while  the  '-cub"  was  tired  enough 
to  believe  anything.  The  old  fellow,  wiping 
his  face,  spoke  up : 

u Suppose  we  save  ourselves  the  trouble 
of  the  journey.  This  hill  is  half  way  be- 
tween the  two  cities,  and  while  I  see  Ozaka 
and  the  sea  you  can  get  a  good  look  of  the 
Kio"  (Capital,  or  Kioto). 

"Happy  thought !"  said  the  Ozaka  frog. 

Then  both  reared  themselves  upon  their 
hind-legs,  and  stretching  upon  their  toes, 
body  to  body,  and  neck  to  neck,  propped 
each  other  up,  rolled  their  goggles  and 
looked  steadily,  as  they  supposed,  on  the 
places  which  they  each  wished  to  see.  Now 
everyone  knows  that  a  frog  has  eyes 
mounted  in  that  part  of  his  head  which    is 

FRONT     WHEN  HE  IS     DOWN    AND  BACK    WHEN     HE 

stands  up.     They  are  set  like  a  compass  on 
gimbals.  3 


18  JAPANESE    FATRY   WORLD. 

Long  and  steadily  they  gazed,  until,  at  last* 
their  toes  being  tired,  they  fell  down  on  all 
fours. 

"I  declare!'7  said  the  old  yaze  (daddy) 
"Ozaka looks  just  like  Kioto ;  and  as  for  'the 
great  ocean  those  stupid  maids  talked  about, 
I  don't  see  any  at  all,  unless  they  mean 
that  strip  of  river  that  looks  for  all  the 
world  like  the  Yodo.  I  don't  believe  there 
is  any  'great  ocean'  T 

"As  for  my  part/7  said  the  "cub/'  "I  am 
satisfied  that  it's  all  folly  to  go  further;  for 
Kioto  is  as  like  Ozaka  as  one  grain  of  rice  i& 
like  another/'  Then  he  said  to  himself; 
"Old  Totsu  San  (my  father)  is  a  fool,  with 
all  his  phoilosophy/' 

Thereupon  both  congratulated  themselves 
upon  the  happy  labor-saving  expedient  by 
which  they    had    spared  themselves  a    long 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  TWO  FROGS.  19 

Journey,  much  leg-weariness,  and  some 
danger,  They  departed,  after  exchanging 
many  compliments;  and,  dropping  again 
into  a  frog's  hop,  they  leaped  back  in  half 
the  time-— the  one  to  his  well  and  the  other 
to  his  pond.  There  each  told  the  story  of 
both  cities  looking  exactly  alike ;  thus 
demonstrating  the  folly  of  those  foolish  folks 
called  men.  As  for  the  old  gentleman  in 
the  lotus-pond,  he  was  so  glad  to  get  the 
"cub"  back  again  that  he  never  again  tried 
to  reason  out  the  problems  of  philosophy. 
And  to  this  day  the  frog  in  the  well  knows 
not  and  believes  not  in  the  "great  ocean/' 
Still  do  the  babies  of  frogs  become  but  frogs. 
Still  is  it  vain  to  teach  the  reptiles  philoso- 
phy; for  all  such  labor  is  "like  pouring 
water  in  a  frog's  face,'5  Still  out  of  the 
black  mud  springs  the  glorious  white  lotus 
In    celestial    purity,   unfolding   its    stainless 


20  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD, 

petals  to  the  smiling  heavens,  the  emblem  of 
life  and  resurrection. 


THE  CHILD  OF  THE  THUNDER. 


trious. 


'N  among  the  hills  of  Echizen, 
within  sight  of  the  snowy  moun- 
tain called  Hakuzan,  lived  a  far- 
mer named  Bimbo.  He  was 
very  poor,  hut  frugal  and  indus- 
He  was  very  fond  of  children 
though  he  had  none  himself.  He  longed  to 
adopt  a  son  to  bear  his  name,  and  often 
talked  the  matter  over  with  his  old  dame. 
But  being  so  dreadfully  poor  both  thought 
it  best  not  to  adopt,  until  they  had  bettered 
their  condition  and  increased  the  area  of 
their  land.  For  all  the  property  Bimbo 
owned  was  the  earth  in  a  little  gully,  which 


22  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

he  himself  was  reclaiming.  A  tiny  rivulet, 
flowing  from  a  spring  in  the  crevice  of  the 
rocks  above,  after  trickling  over  the  bould- 
ers, rolled  down  the  gully  to  join  a  brook  in 
the  larger  valley  below  Bimbo  had  with 
great  labor,  after  many  years,  made  dams 
or  terraces  of  stone,  inside  which  he  had 
thrown  soil,  partly  got  from  the  mountain 
sides,  but  mainly  carried  in  baskets  on  the 
backs  of  himself  and  his  wife,  from  the 
valley  below.  By  such  weary  toil,  contin- 
ued year  in  and  year  out,  small  beds  of  soil 
were  formed,  in  which  rice  could  be  planted 
and  grown.  The  little  rivulet  supplied  the 
needful  water  ;  for  rice,  the  daily  food  of 
laborer  and  farmer,  must  be  planted  and 
cultivated  in  soft  mud  under  water.  So  the 
little  rivulet,  which  once  leaped  over  the 
rock  and  cut  its  way  singing  to  the  valley, 
now  spread  itself  quietly  over  each  terrace, 


THE  CHILD  OF  THE  THUNDER.         16 

making  more  than  a  dozen  descents  before 
it  reached  the  fields  below. 

Yet  after  all  his  toil  for  a  score  of  years, 
working  every  day  from  the  first  croak  of 
the  raven,  until  the  stars  came  out,  Bimbo 
and  his  wife  owned  only  three  tan  (f  acre) 
of  terrace  land.  Sometimes  a  summer  would 
pass,  and  little  or  no  rain  fall.  Then  the 
rivulet  dried  up  and  crops  failed.  It  seemed 
all  in  vain  that  their  backs  were  bent  and 
their  foreheads  seamed  and  wrinkled  with 
care.  Many  a  time  did  Bimbo  have  hard 
work  of  it  even  to  pay  his  taxes,  which 
sometimes  amounted  to  half  his  crop.  Many 
a  time  did  he  shake  his  head,  muttering  the 
discouraged  farmer's  proverb  "  A  new  field 
gives  a  scant  crop,"  the  words  of  which 
mean  also.  u  Human  life  is  but  fifty  years." 

One  summer  day  after  a  long  drought, 
when  the youngrice  sprouts  just  transplanted 


24  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

were  turning  yellow  at  the  tips,  the  clouds 
began  to  gather  and  roll,  and  soon  a  smart 
shower  fell,  the  lightning  glittered,  and  the 
hills  echoed  with  claps  of  thunder.  But 
Bimbo,  hoe  in  hand,  was  so  glad  to  see  the 
rain  fall,  and  the  pattering  drops  felt  so  cool 
and  refreshing,  that  he  worked  "on,  strength- 
ening the  terrace  to  resist  the  little  flood 
about  to  come. 

Pretty  soon  the  storm  rattled  very  near 
aim,  and  he  thought  he  had  better  seek 
shelter,  lest  the  thunder  should  strike  and 
kill  him.  For  Bimbo,  like  all  his  neigh- 
bors, had  often  heard  stories  of  Kaijin,  the 
god  of  the  thunder-drums,  who  lives  in  the 
skies  and  rides  on  the  storm,  and  sometimes 
kills  people  by  throwing  out  of  the  clouds 
at  them  a  terrible  creature  like  a  cat,  with 
iron-like  claws  and  a  hairy  body. 


THE  CHILD  OF  THE  THUNDER.  25 

Just  as  Bimbo  threw  his  hoe  over  his 
shoulder  and  started  to  move,  a  terrible 
blinding  flash  of  lightning  dazzled  his  eyes. 
It  was  immediately  followed  by  a  deafening 
crash,  and  the  thunder  fell  just  in  front  of 
him.  He  covered  his  eyes  with  his  hands, 
but  finding  himself  unhurt,  uttered  a  prayer 
of  thanks  to  Buddha  for  safety.  Then  he 
uncovered  his  eyes  and  looked  down  at  his 
feet. 

There  lay  a  little  boy,  rosy  and  warm, 
and  crowing  in  the  most  lively  manner,  and 
never  minding  the  rain  in  the  least.  The 
farmers  eyes  opened  very  wide,  but  happy 
and  nearly  surprised  out  of  his  senses,  he 
picked  up  the  child  tenderly  in  his  arms, 
and  took  him  home  to  his  old  wife. 

"  Here's  a  gift  from  Raijin,"  said  Bimbo. 
"  We'll  adopt  him  as  our  own  son  and  call 
him  Rai-taro,"  (the  first-born  darling  of 
the  thunder). 


2b  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

80  the  boy  grew  up  and  became  a  very 
dutiful  and  loving  child.  He  was  as  kind 
and  obedient  to  his  foster-parents  as  though 
he  had  been  born  in  their  house.  He  never 
liked  to  play  with  other  children,  but  kept 
all  day  in  the  fields  with  his  father,  sporting 
with  the  rivulet  and  looking  at  the  clouds 
and  sky.  Even  when  the  strolling  players 
of  the  Dai  Kagura  (the  comedy  which  makes 
the  gods  laugh)  and  the  "  Lion  of  Corea  " 
came  into  the  village,  and  every  boy  and 
girl  and  nurse  and  woman  was  sure  to  be 
out  in  great  glee,  the  child  of  the  thunder 
stayed  up  in  the  field,  or  climbed  on  the 
high  rocks  to  watch  the  sailing  of  the  birds 
and  the  flowing  of  the  water  and  the  river 
far  away. 

Great  prosperity  seemed  to  come  to  the 
farmer,  and  he  laid  it  all  to  the  sweet  child 
that  fell  to  him  from  the   clouds.      It    was 


THE  CHILD  OF  THE  THUNDER.       27 

very  curious  that  rain  often  fell  on  Bimbo's 
iield  when  none  fell  elsewhere ;  so  that 
Bimbo  grew  rich  and  changed  his  name 
to  Kanemochi.  He  believed  that  the  boy 
Itaitaro  beckoned  to  the  clouds,  and  they 
shed  their  ram  for  him. 

A  good  many  summers  passed  by,  and 
Iiaitaro  had  grown  to  be  a  tall  and  hand- 
some lad,  almost  a  man  and  eighteen  years 
old.  On  his  birthday  the  old  farmer  and 
the  good  wife  made  a  little  feast  for  their 
foster-child.  They  ate  and  drank  and  talked 
of  the  thunder-storm,  out  of  which  Raitaro 
was  born. 

Finally  the  young  man  said  solemnly  : 

"  My  dear  parents,  I  thank  you  very 
much  for  your  kindness  to  me,  but  I  must 
now  say  farewell.  I  hope  you  will  always 
be  happy." 

Then,  in  a  moment,  all  trace  of  a  human 


28  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

form  disappeared,  and  floating  in  the  air, 
they  saw  a  tiny  white  dragon,  which  hov- 
ered for  a  moment  above  them,  and  then 
flew  away.  The  old  couple  went  out  of 
doors  to  watch  it,  when  it  grew  bigger  and 
bigger,  taking  its  course  to  the  hills  above, 
where  the  piled-up  white  clouds,  which  form 
on  a  summer's  afternoon, seemed  built  up  like 
towers  and  castles  of  silver.  Towards  one 
of  these  the  dragon  moved,  until,  as  they 
watched  his  form,  now  grown  to  a  mighty 
size,  it  disappeared  from  view. 

After  this  Kanemochi  and  his  wife,  who 
were  now  old  and  white-headed,  ceased  from 
their  toil  and  lived  in  comfort  all  their  days. 
When  they  died  and  their  bodies  were  re- 
duced to  a  heap  of  white  cinders  in  the  stone 
furnace  of  the  village  cremation-house,  their 
ashes  were  mixed,  and  being  put  into  one 
urn,  were  laid  away  in  the  cemetery  of  the 


THE  CHILD  OF  THE  THUNDER.       29 

temple  yard.  Their  tomb  was  carved  in 
the  form  of  a  white  dragoon,  which  to  this 
day,  in  spite  of  mosses  and  lichens,  ma}^ 
still  be  seen  among  the  ancient  monuments 
of  the  little  hamlet, 


THE  TOtfaUE-CtfT  SPARROW, 


i  HERE  was  once  an  old  man  who 
had  a  wife  with  a  very  bad  tem- 
per, She  had  never  borne  him 
any  children,  and  would  not 
take  the  trouble  to  adopt  a  son* 
So  for4  a  little  pet  he  kept  a  tiny  sparrow, 
and  fed  it  with  great  care*  The  old  dame 
Hot  satisfied  with  scolding  her  husband 
hated  the  sparrow. 

Now  the  old  woman's  temper  was  especi^ 
ally  bad  on  wash  days,  when  her  old  back 
and  knees  were  well  strained  over  the  low 
tub,  which  rested  on  the  ground. 

It  happened  once  that  she  had  made  some 
starchy  and  sot  it  in  a  red    wooden   bowl   to 


THE  T0NGtJE-CtJT   SPAMoW.  31 

cool.  While  her  back  was  turned,  the  spar- 
row hopped  down  on  the  edge  of  the  bowl, 
and  pecked  at  some  of  the  stanch  »  In  a  rage 
the  old  hag  seized  a  pair  of  scissors  and  cut 
the  sparrow's  tongue  out*  Flinging  the 
bird  in  the  air  she  cried  out,  "  Now  be  off," 
So  the  poor  sparrow,  all  bleeding,  flew 
away. 

When  the  old  man  came  back  and  found 
his  pet  gone,  he  made  a  great  ado.  He  asked 
his  wife,  and  she  told  him  what  she  had 
done  and  why.  The  sorrowful  old  man 
grieved  sarely  for  his  pet,  and  after  looking 
in  every  place  and  calling  it  by  name,  gave 
it  up  as  lost. 

Long  after  this,  old  man  while  Wandering 
on  the  mountains  met  his  old  friend  the 
sparrow.  They  both  cried  "  Ohio  "!  (good 
morning,)  to  each  other,  and  bowing  low 
offered  many  mutual  congraulations  and  iu- 


32  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD, 

quiries  as  to  health,  etc.  Then  the  spar- 
row begged  the  old  man  to  visit  his  humble 
abode,  promising  to  introduce  his  wife  and 
two  daughters. 

The  old  man  went  in  and  found  a  nice 
little  house  with  a  bamboo  garden,  tiny 
waterfall, stepping  stone  and  everything  com- 
plete. Then  Mrs.  Sparrow  brought  in  slices 
of  sugar-jelly,  rock- candy,  sweet  potato 
custard,  and  a  bowl  of  hot  starch  sprinkled 
with  sugar,  and  a  pair  of  chopsticks  on  a 
tray.  Miss  Suzumi,  the  elder  daughter 
brought  the  tea  caddy  and  tea-pot,  and  in 
a  snap  of  the  fingers  had  a  good  cup  of  tea 
ready,  which  she  offered  on  a  tray,  kneeling. 

"  Please  take  up  and  help  yourself. 
The  refreshments  are  very  poor,  but  I  hope 
you  will  excuse  our  plainness,"  said  Mother 
Sparrow.  The  delighted  old  man,  wonder- 
ing  in  himself  at  such   a  polite  family   of 


THE  TONGUE-CUT    SPARROW.  33 

sparrows,  ate  heartily,  and  drank  several 
cups  of  tea.  Finally,  on  being  pressed  he 
remained  all  night. 

For  several  days  the  old  man  enjoyed 
himself  at  the  sparrow's  home.  He  looked 
at  the  landscapes  and  the  moonlight,  feasted 
to  his  heart's  content,  and  played  go  (the 
game  of  360  checkers)  with  Ko-suzumi  the 
little  daughter.  In  the  evening  Mrs.  Spar- 
row would  bring  out  the  refreshments  and 
the  wine,  and  seat  the  old  man  on  a  silken 
cushion,  while  she  played  the  guitar.  Mr. 
Sparrow  and  his  two  daughters  danced, 
•sung  and  made  merry.  The  delighted  old 
man  leaning  on  the  velvet  arm-rest  forgot 
his  cares,  his  old  limbs  and  his  wife's 
tongue,  and  felt  like  a  youth  again. 

On  the  fifth  day  the  old  man  said  he  must 
go  home.  Then  the  sparrow  brought  out 
two  baskets  made  of  plaited  rattan,  such  as 

4 


34  JAPANESE    FATRY  WORLD. 

are  used  in  traveling  and  carried  on  men*s 
shoulders.  Placing  them  before  their  guest* 
the  sparrow  said,  *?  Please  accept  a  parting 

gift." 

Now  one  basket  was  very  heavy,  and  the 
other  very  light.  The  old  man,  not  being 
greedy,  said,  he  would  take  the  lighter  one. 
So  with  many  thanks  and  bowrs  and  good- 
byes, he  set  off  homewards. 

He  reached  his  hut  safely,  but  instead  of 
a  kind  welcome  the  old  hag  began  to  scold 
him  for  being  away  so  long.  He  begged 
her  to  be  quiet,  and  telling  of  his  visit  to 
the  sparrows,  opened  the  basket,  while  the 
scowling  old  woman  held  her  tongue,  out  of 
sheer  curiosity. 

Oh,  what  a  splendid  sight !  There  were 
gold  and  silver  coin,  and  gems,  and  coral, 
and  crystal,  and  amber,  and  the  never-fail- 
ing bag  of  money,  and  the  invisible  coat  and 


THE  TONGUE-CUT  SPARROW.  35 

hat,  and  rolls  of  books,  and  all  manner  of 
precious  things. 

At  the  sight  of  so  much  wealth,  the  old 
hag's  scowl  changed  to  a  smile  of  greedy 
joy.  "  I'll  go  right  off  and  get  a  present 
from  the  sparrows,"  said  she. 

So  binding  on  her  straw  sandals,  and 
tucking  up  her  skirts,  and  adjusting  her 
girdle,  tying  the  bow  in  front,  she  seized  her 
staff  and  set  off  on  the  road.  Arriving  at 
the  sparrow's  house  she  began  to  flatter  Mr. 
Sparrow  by  soft  speeches.  Of  course  the 
polite  sparrow  invited  her  into  his  house, 
but  nothing  but  a  cup  of  tea  was  offered  her, 
and  wife  and  daughters  kept  away.  Seeing 
she  was  not  going  to  get  any  good-bye  gift, ! 
the  brazen  hussy  asked  for  one.  The  spar- 
row then  brought  out  and  set  before  her  two 
baskets,  one  heavy  and  the  other  light. 
Taking  the  heavier  one  without  so  much  as 


36  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD, 

saying  "  thank  you/'  she  carried  it  back 
with  her.  Then  she  opened  it,  expecting 
all  kinds  of  riches. 

She  took  off  the  lid,  when  a  horrible 
cuttle-fish  rushed  at  her,  and  a  horned  oni 
snapped  his  tusks  at  her,  a  skeleton  poked 
his  bony  fingers  in  her  face,  and  finally  a 
long,  hairy  serpent,  with  a  big  head  and 
lolling  tongue,  sprang  out  and  coiled  around 
her,  cracking  her  bones,  and  squeezing  out 
her  breath,  till  she  died. 

After  the  good  old  man  had  buried  his 
wife,  he  adopted  a  son  to  comfort  his  old 
age,  and  with  his  treasures  lived  at  ease  all 
his  days. 


THE  FIRE-FLY'S  LOVERS. 


'N  JAPAN  the  night-flies  emit  so 
brilliant  a  light  and  are  so  beau- 
tiful that  ladies  go  out  in  the 
evenings  and  catch  the  insects 
for  amusement,  as  may  be  seen 
represented  on  Japanese  fans.  They  im- 
prison them  iu  tiny  cages  made  of  bamboo 
threads,  and  hang  them  up  in  their  rooms 
or  suspend  them  from  the  eaves  of  their 
houses.  At  their  picnic  parties,  the  people 
love  to  sit  on  August  evenings,  fan  in  hand, 
looking  over  the  lovely  landscape,  spangled 
by  ten  thousand  brilliant  spots  of  golden 
light.  Each  flash  seems  like  a  tiny  blaze  of 
harmless  lightning. 


38  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

One  of  the  species  of  night-flies,  the  most 
beautiful  of  all,  is  a  source  of  much  amuse- 
ment to  the"  ladies.  Hanging  the  cage  of 
glittering  insects  on  their  verandahs,  they 
sit  and  watch  "the  crowd  of  winged  visitors 
attracted  by  the  fire-fly's  light.  What  brings 
them  there,  and  why  the  fire-fly's  parlor  is 
filled  with  suitors  as  a  queen's  court  with 
courtiers,  let  this  love  story  tell. 

On  the  southern  and  sunny  side  of  the 
castle  moats  of  the  Fukui  castle,  in  Echi- 
zen,  the  water  had  long  ago  become  shallow 
so  that  lotus  lilies  grew  luxuriantly.  Deep 
in  the  heart  of  one  of  the  great  flowers 
whose  petals  were  as  pink  as  the  lining  of 
a  sea-shell,  lived  the  King  of  the  Fire-flies, 
Hi- 6,  whose  only  daughter  was  the  lovely 
princess  Hotaru-hime.  While  still  a  child 
the  hime   (princess)   was  carefully  kept   at 


THE  FIRE-FLY'S   LOVERS.  39 

home  within  the  pink  petals  of  the  lily,  never 
going  even  to  the  edges  except  to  see  her 
father  fly  off  on  his  journey.  Dutifully  she 
waited  until  of  age,  when  the  fire  glowed  in 
her  own  body,  and  shone,  beautifully  illumin- 
ating the  lotus,  until  its  light  at  night  was 
like  a  lamp  within  a  globe  of  coral. 

Every  night  her  light  grew  brighter  and 
brighter,  until  at  last  it  was  as  mellow  as 
gold.     Then  her  father  said  : 

"  My  daughter  is  now  of  age,  she  may  fly 
abroad  with  me  sometimes,  and  when  the 
proper  suitor  comes  she  may  marry  whom 
she  will." 

So  Hotaru-hime  flew  forth  in  and  out 
among  the  lotus  lilies  of  the  moat,  then  into 
rich  rice  fields,  and  at  last  far  off  to  the  in- 
digo meadows. 

Whenever  she  went  a  crowd  of  suitors  fol- 
lowed her,  for  she  had    the  singular  power 


40  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

of  attracting  all  the  night-flying  insects  to 
herself.  But  she  cared  for  none  of  their  at- 
tentions, and  .though  she  spoke  politely  to 
them  all  she  gave  encouragement  to  none. 
Yet  some  of  the  sheeny-winged  gallants 
called  her  a  coquette. 

One  night  she  said  to  her  mother,  the 
queen  : 

"  I  have  met  many  admirers,  but  I  don't 
wish  a  husband  from  any  of  them.  To- 
night I  shall  stay  at  home,  and  if  any  of 
them  love  me  truly  they  will  come  and  pay 
me  court  here.  Then  I  shall  lay  an  impos- 
sible duty  on  them.  If  they  are  wise  they 
will  not  try  to  perform  it ;  and  if  they  love 
their  lives  more  than  they  love  me,  I  do  not 
want  any  of  them.  Whoever  succeeds  may 
have  me  for  his  bride." 

"  As  you  will  my  child,"  said  the  queen 
mother,  who  arrayed  her  daughter  in  her 
most  resplendent  robes,  and  set  her  on  her 
throne  in  the  heart  of  the  lotus. 


THE  FIRE-FLY'S  LOVERS.  41 

Then  she  gave  orders  to  her  body-guard 
to  keep  all  suitors  at  a  respectful  distance 
lest  some  stupid  gallant,  a  horn-bug  or  a  ^ ? 
cockchafer  dazzled  by  the  light  should  ap- 
proach too  near  and  hurt  the  princess  or 
shake  her  throne. 

No  sooner  had  twilight  faded  away,  than 
forth  came  the  golden  beetle,  who  stood  on 
a  stamen  and  making  obeisance,  said : — 

"I  am  Lord  Green -Gold,  I  offer  my 
house,  my  fortune  and  my  love  to  Princess 
Hotaru." 

"Go  and  bring  me  fire  and  I  will  be  your 
bride''  said  Hotaru-hime. 

With  a  bow  of  the  head  the  beetle  opened 
his  wings  and  departed  with  a  stately  whirr. 

Next  came  a  shining  bug  with  -wings  and 
body  as  black  as  lamp-smoke,  who  solemnly 
professed  his  passion. 

"Bring  me  fire  and  you  may  have  me  for 
your  wife." 


42  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

Off  flew  the  bug  with  a  buzz. 

Pretty  soon  came  the  scarlet  dragon-fly, 
expecting  so  to  dazzle  the  princess  by  his 
gorgeous  colors  that  she  would  accept  him 
at  once. 

"I  decline  your  offer"  said  the  princess, 
"  but  if  you  bring  me  a  flash  of  fire,  111  be- 
come your  bride." 

Swift  was  the  flight  of  the  dragon-fly  on 
his  errand,  and  in  came  the  Beetle  with  a 
tremendous  buzz,  and  ardently  plead  his  suit. 

'Til  say  'yes'  if  you  bring  me  fire"  said 
the  glittering  princess. 

Suitor  after  suitor  appeared  to  woo  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Fire-flies  until 
every  petal  was  dotted  with  them.  One 
after  another  in  a  long  troop  they  appeared. 
Each  in  his  own  way,  proudly,  humbly, 
boldly,  mildly,  with  flattery,  with  boasting, 
even  with  tears,  each  proffered  his  love,  told 


THE  FIRE-FLY'S   LOVERS.  43 

his  rank  or  expatiated  on  his  fortune  or 
vowed  his  constancy,  sang  his  tune  or  played 
his  music.  To  every  one  of  her  lovers  the 
princess  in  modest  voice  returned  the  same 
answer  : 

"Bring  me  fire  and  I'll  be  your  bride.'' 

So  without  telling  his  rivals,  each  one 
thinking  he  had  the  secret  alone  sped  away 
after  fire. 

But  none  ever  came  back  to  wed  the 
princess.  Alas  for  the  poor  suitors  !  The 
beetle  whizzed  off  to  a  house  near  by  through 
the  paper  windows  of  which  light  glimmered. 
So  full  was  he  of  his  passion  that  thinking 
nothing  of  wood  or  iron,  he  dashed  his  head 
against  a  nail,  and  fell  dead  on  the  ground. 

The  black  bug  flew  into  a  room  where  a 
poor  student  was  reading.  His  lamp  was 
only  a  dish  of  earthenware  full  of  rape  seed 
oil  with  a   wick  made    of  pith.     Knowing 


44  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

nothing  of  oil  the  love-lorn  bug  crawled  into 
the  dish  to  reach  the  flame  and  in  a  few 
seconds  was  drowned  in  the  oil. 

"  Nan  jaro  T  (What's  that  ?)  said  a  thrifty 
housewife,  sitting  with  needle  in  hand,  as 
her  lamp  flared  up  for  a  moment,  smoking 
the  chimney,  and  then  cracking  it;  while 
picking  out  the  scorched  bits  she  found  a 
roasted  dragon-fly,  whose  scarlet  wings  were 
all  burned  off. 

Mad  with  love  the  brilliant  hawk-moth, 
afraid  of  the  flame  yet  determined  to  win 
the  fire  for  the  princess,  hovered  round  and 
round  the  candle  flame,  coming  nearer  and 
nearer  each  time.  "  Now  or  never,  the 
princess  or  death,"  he  buzzed,  as  he  darted 
forward  to  snatch  a  flash  of  flame,  but  singe- 
ing his  wings,  he  fell  helplessly  down,  and 
died  in  agony. 


TffiB  mtE-FIAJS  LOVERS.  45 

u  What  a  fool  he  was,  to  be  sure,"  said 
the  ugly  clothes  moth,  coming  on  the  spot* 
"  I'll  get  the  fire.  I'll  crawl  tip  inside  the 
candle.  So  he  climbed  up  the  hollow  paper 
wick,  and  was  nearly  to  the  top,  and  in-^ 
side  the  hollow  blue  part  of  the  flame,  when 
the  man,  snuffing  the  Wick>  crushed  him  to 
death. 

Sad  indeed  was  the  fate  of  the  lovers  of 
Hi-6's  daughter.  Some  hovered  around  the 
beacons  on  the  headland,  some  fluttered 
about  the  great  wax  candles  which  stood 
eight  feet  high  in  their  brass  sockets  ill 
Buddhist  temples ;  some  burned  their  noses 
at  the  top  of  incense  sticks,  or  were  nearly 
choked  by  the  smoke  ;  some  danced  all 
night  around  the  lanterns  in  the  shrines  \ 
some  sought  the  sepulchral  lamps  in  the 
graveyard  ;  one  visited  the  cremation  fur- 
nace ;  another  the  kitchen*  where  a   feast 


46  JAPANESE   FAIRY   WORLD* 

was  going  on  ;  another  chased  the  sparks 
that  flew  out  of  the  chimney ;  but  none 
brought  fire  to  the  princess,  or  won  the 
lover's  prize.  Many  lost  their  feelers,  had 
their  shining  bodies  scorched  or  their  wings 
singed,  but  most  of  them  alas !  lay  dead9 
black  and  cold  next  morning. 

As  the  priests  trimmed  the  lamps  in  the 
shrines,  and  the  servant  maids  the  lanterns, 
each  said  alike  ; 

"  The  Princess  Hotaru  must  have  had 
many  lovers  last  night/' 

Alas  !  alas !  poor  suitors.  Some  tried  to 
snatch  a  streak  of  green  fire  from  the  cat's 
eyes,  and  were  snapped  up  for  their  pains* 
One  attempted  to  get  a  mouthful  of  bird's 
breath,  but  was  swallowed  alive.  A  carrion 
beetle  (the  ugly  lover)  crawled  off  to  the 
sea  shore,  and  found  some  fish  scales  that 
emitted  light.     The    stag-beetle  climbed  a 


THE  FIRE-FLY5 g   LOVERS.  4? 

mountain,  and  in  a  rotten  tree  stump  found 
some  bits  of  glowing  wood  like  fire,  but  the 
distance  was  so  great  that  long  before  they 
reached  the  castle  moat  it  was  daylight,  and 
the  fire  had  gone  out;  so  they  threw  their 
fish  scales  and  old  wood  away* 

The  next  day  was  one  of  great  mourning 
and  there  were  so  many  funerals  going  on, 
that  Hi-mar6  the  Prince  of  the  Fireflies  on 
the  north  side  of  the  castle  moat  inquired 
of  his  servants  the  cause;  Then  he  learned 
for  the  first  time  of  the  glittering  princess, 
Upon  this  the  prince  who  had  just  succeed- 
ed his  father  upon  the  throne  fell  in  love 
with  the  princess  and  resolved  to  marry 
her.  He  sent  his  chamberlain  to  ask  of  her 
father  his  daughter  in  marriage  according 
to  true  etiquette.  The  father  agreed  to  the 
prince's  proposal,  with  the  condition  that 
the  Prince    should  obey   her  behest    in  one 


48  JAPANESE  FAttlY    WOftLi), 

things  which  was  to  come  in  person    bring* 
ing  her  fire. 

Then  the  Prince  at  the  head  of  his  glitter- 
ing battalions  came  in  person  and  filled  the 
lotus  palace  with  a  flood  of  golden  light. 
But  Hotaru-bitne  was  so  beautiful  that  her 
charms  paled  not  their  fire  even  in  the  blaze 
of  the  Prince's  glory.  The  visit  ended  in 
Wooing,  and  the  wooing  in  weddings  On 
the  night  appointed,  in  a  palanquin  made  of 
the  white  lotus-petals,  amid  the  blazing 
torches  of  the  prince's  battalions  of  warriors. 
Hotaru-hime  was  borne  to  the  prince's  palace 
and  there,  prince  and  princess  were  joined 
in  the  wedlock. 

Many  generations  have  passed  since 
Hi-maro  and  Hotaru-hime  were  married, 
and  still  it  is  the  whim  of  all  Fire-fly  prin- 
cesses that  their  base-born  lovers  must 
bring  fire  as  their  love-offering  or  lose  their 
prize.     Else  would  the  glittering;  fair  onea 


THE   FIRE-FLY'S    LOVERS.  49 

be  wearied  unto  death  by  the  importunity 
of  their  lovers.  Great  indeed  is  the  loss, 
for  in  this  quest  of  fire  many  thousand  in- 
sects, attracted  by  the  fire-fly,  are  burned  to 
death  in  the  vain  hope  of  winning  the  fire 
that  shall  gain  the  cruel  but  beautiful  one 
that  fascinates  them.  It  is  for  this  cause 
that  each  night  insects  hover  around  the 
lamp  flame,  and  every  morning  a  crowd  of 
victims  drowned  in  the  oil,  or  scorched  in 
the  flame,  must  be  cleaned  from  the  lamp. 
This  is  the  reason  why  young  ladies  catch 
and  imprison  the  fire-flies  to  watch  the  war 
of  insect-love,  in  the  hope  that  they  may 
have  human  lovers  who  will  dare  as  much, 
through  fire  and  flood,  as  they. 


THE  BATTLE  OP  THE  APE  AND  THE 
CRAB. 


;N  THE  LAND  where  neither  the 
monkeys  or  the  cats  have  tails, 
and  the  persimmons  grow  to  be 
as  large  a*s  apples  and  with  seeds 
bigger  than  a  melon's,  there  once 
lived  a  land  crab  in  the  side  of  a  sand  hill. 
One  day  an  ape  came  along  having  a  per- 
simmon seed,  which  he  offered  to  swap  with 
the  crab  for  a  rice-cake.  The  crab  agreed, 
and  planting  the  seed  in  his  garden  went 
out  every  day  to  watch  it  grow. 

By-and-by  the  ape  came  to  visit  the  crab, 
and  seeing  the  fine  tree  laden  with  the  yel- 
low-brown fruit,   begged  a  few.     The  crab, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  APE  AND  THE  CRAB   51 

asking  pardon  of  the  ape,  said  he  could  not 
climb  the  tree  to  offer  him  any,  but  agreed 
to  give  the  ape  half,  if  he  would  mount  the 
tree  and  pluck  them. 

So  the  monkey  ran  up  the  tree,  while  the 
crab  waited  below,  expecting  to  eat  the  ripe 
fruit.  But  the  monkey  sitting  on  a  limb 
first  filled  his  pockets  full,  and  then  picking 
off  all  the  best  ones,  greedily  ate  the  pulp, 
and  threw  the  skin  and  stones  in  the  crab's 
face.  Every  once  in  a  while,  he  would  pull 
off  a  green  sour  persimmon  and  hit  the  crab 
hard,  until  his  shell  was  nearly  cracked.  At 
last  the  crab  thought  he  would  get  the  best 
of  the  ape.  So  when  his  enemy  had  eaten 
his  fill  until  he  was  bulged  out,  he  cried  out, 
"  Now  Mister  Ape,  I  dare  you  to  come 
down  head-foremost.     You  can't  do  it." 

So  the  ape  began  to  descend,  head  down- 
ward.    This  was  just  what  the  crab  wanted, 


52  JAPANESE    FAIRV   WORLD, 

for  all  the  finest  persimmons  rolled  out  of 
his  pockets  on  the  ground.  The  crab  quick- 
ly gathered  them  up,  and  with  both  arms 
full  ran  off  to  his  hole.  Then  the  ape  was 
very  angry.  He  kindled  a  fire,  and  blew 
the  smoke  down  the  hole,  until  the  crab  was 
nearly  choked.  The  poor  crab  to  save  his 
life  had  to  crawl  out. 

Then  the  monkey  beat  him  soundly,  and 
left  him  for  dead. 

The  crab  had  not  been  long  thusy  when 
three  travelers,  a  rice-mortar,  an  egg,  and  a 
wasp  found  him  lying  on  the  ground.  They 
carried  him  into  the  house,  bound  up  his 
wounds  and  while  he  lay  in  bed  they  planned 
how  they  might  destroy  the  ape.  They  all 
talked  of  the  matter  over  their  cups  of  tea, 
and  after  the  mortar  had  smoked  several 
pipes  of  tobacco,  a  plan  was  agreed  on. 

So  taking  the  crab  along,  stiff  and  sore  as  he 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  APE  AND  THE  CRAB.   53 

was,  they  marched  to  the  monkey's  castle. 
The  wasp  flew  inside,  and  found  that  their 
enemy  was  away  from  home.  Then  all 
entered  and  hid  themselves.  The  egg  cud- 
dled up  under  the  ashes  in  the  hearth.  The 
wasp  flew  into  the  closet.  The  mortar  hid 
behind  the  door.  They  then  waited  for  the 
ape  to  come  home.  The  crab  sat  beside  the 
fire. 

Towards  evening  the  monkey  arrived, 
and  throwing  off  his  coat  (which  was  just 
what  the  wasp  wanted)  he  lighted  a  sulphur 
match,  and  kindling  a  fire,  hung  on  the 
kettle  for  a  cup  of  tea,  and  pulled  out  his 
pipe  for  a  smoke.  Just  as  he  sat  down  by 
the  hearth  to  salute  the  crab,  the  egg  burst 
and  the  hot  yolk  flew  all  over  him  and  in 
his  eye,  nearly  blinding  him.  He  rushed 
out  to  the  bath-room  to  plunge  in  the  tub 
of  cold  water,  when    the  wasp  flew  at    him 


54  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

and  stung  his  nose.  Slipping  down,  he  fell 
flat  on  the  floor,  when  the  mortar  rolled  on 
him  and  crushed  him  to  death.  Then  the 
whole  party  congratulated  the  crab  on  their 
victory.  Grateful  for  the  friendship  thus 
shown,  the  whole  party,  crab,  mortar  and 
wasp  lived  in  peace  together,  r 

The  crab  married  the  daughter  of  a  rich 
crab  that  lived  over  the  hill,  and  a  great 
feast  of  persimmons  was  spread  before  the 
bride's  relatives  who  came  to  see  the  cere- 
mony. By-and-by  a  little  crab  was  born 
which  became  a  great  pet  with  the  mortar 
and  wasp.  With  no  more  apes  to  plague 
them,  they  lived  very  happily. 


OF  THR 


JHTVEH3ITY) 


1/ 


THE  WONDERFUL  TEA-KETTLE. 


LONG  TIME  AGO  there  was  an 
old  priest  who  lived  in  the 
temple  of  Morinji  in  the  province 
of  Hitachi.  He  cooked  his  own 
rice,  boiled  his  own  tea,  swept 
his  own  floor  and  lived  frugally  as  an  honest 
priest  should  do. 

One  day  he  was  sitting  near  the  square 
fire-place  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  A  rope 
and  chain  to  hold  the  pot  and  kettle  hung 
down  from  the  covered  hole  in  the  ceiling 
which  did  duty  as  a  chimney.  A  pair  of 
brass  tongs  was  stuck  in  the  ashes  and  the 
fire  blazed  merrily.     At  the  side  of  the  fire- 


56  JAPANESE  FAIRY  world. 

place,  on  the  floor,  was  a  tray  filled  with 
tiny  tea-cups,/a  pewter  tea-caddy^  a  bamboo 
bea-stirrer,  and  a  little  dipper.  The  priest 
having  finished  sweeping  the  ashes  oil' the 
edges  of  the  hearth  with  a  Little  whisk  of 
hawk's  leather's,  was  just  about  to  put  on 
the  tea  when  "suzz,"  "BUZZ,"  sang  the  tea- 
kettle Spout;  and  then  "  pattari " — "pattari" 
said  the  lid,  as  it  (lapped  up  and  down,  and 
the  kettle  swung  backwards  and  forwards. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  said  the  old 
bonze.  "  Nam  /wdo, "  said  he,  witli  a  start 
as  the  spout  of  the  kettle  turned  into  a 
badger's  nose  with  its  big  whiskers,  while 
from  the  other  side  sprouted  out  a  long 
bushy  tail. 

"  Yokodo  medzurashi"  shouted  the  priest 
dropping  the  tea-caddy  and  spilling  the  green 
tea  all  over  the  matting  as  four  hairy  legs 
appeared  under    the  kettle,  and  the  strange 


J  HE  WONDERFUL    TEA-KETTLE.  57 

compound,  half  badger  and  half  kettle, 
jumped  off  the  fire,  and  began  running 
around  the  room.     To  the  pi  orror  it 

leaped  on  a  shelf,  puffed  out  its  belly  and 
began  to  beat  a  tune  with  its  fore-paws  as  if 
it  were  a  drum.  The  old  bonze's  pupils, 
hearing  the  racket  rushed  in,  and  after  a 
lively  chase,  upsetting  piles  of  books  and 
breaking  some  of  the  tea-cups,  secured  the 
badger,  and  squeezed  him  in  a  keg  used  for 
storing  the  pickled  radishes  called,  daikon, 
(or  Japanese  sauer-kraut.)  They  fastened 
down  the  lid  with  a  heavy  stone.  They 
were  sure  that  the  strong  odor  of  the  radishes 
would  kill  the  beast,  for  no  man  could  possi- 
bly survive  such  a  smell,  and  it  was  not 
likely  a  badger  could. 

-  The  next  morning  the  tinker  of  the  vil- 
lage called  in  and  the  priest  told  him  about 
his  strange  visitor.     Wishing  to    show  him 


58  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

the  animal,  he  cautiously  lifted  the  lid  of  the 
cask,  lest  the  badger,  might  after  all,  be  still 
alive,  in  spite  of  the  stench  of  the  sour 
mess,  when  lo !  there  was  nothing  but  the 
old  iron  tea-kettle.  Fearing  that  the  utensil 
might  play  the  same  prank  again,  the  priest 
was  glad  to  sell  it  to  the  tinker  who  bought 
the  kettle  for  a  few  iron  cash.  He  carried 
it  to  his  junk  shop,  though  he  thought  it  felt 
unusually  heavy. 

The  tinker  went  to  bed  as  usual  that 
night  with  his  andon,  or  paper  shaded  lamp, 
just  back  of  his  head.  About  midnight, 
hearing  a  strange  noise  like  the  flapping  up 
and  down  of  an  iron  pot-lid,  he  sat  up  in 
bed,  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  there  was  the  iron 
pot  covered  with  fur  and  sprouting  out  legs. 
In  short,  it  was  turning  into  a  hairy  beast. 
Going  over  to  the  recess  and  taking  a  fan 
from  the  rack,  the  badger  climbed  up  on  the 


THE    WONDERFUL  TEA-KETTLE.  59 

frame  of  the  lamp,  and  began  to  dance  on  its 
one  hind  leg,  waving  the  fan  with  its  fore- 
paw.  It  played  many  other  tricks,  until  the 
man  started  up,  and  then  the  badger  turned 
into  a  tea-kettle  again. 

"  I  declare,"  said  the  tinker  as  he  woke 
up  next  morning,  and  talked  the  matter  over 
with  his  wife.  "  I'll  just  'raise  a  mountain  " 
(earn  my  fortune)  on  this  kettle.  It  certain- 
ly is  a  very  highly  accomplished  tea-kettle 
I'll  call  it  the  Bumbuku  Chagama  (The  Tea- 
Kettle  accomplished  in  literature  and  mili- 
tary art)  and  exhibit  it  to  the  public. 

So  the  tinker  hired  a  professional  show- 
man for  his  business  agent,  and  built  a  little 
theatre  and  stage.  Then  he  gave  an  order 
to  a  friend  of  his,  an  artist,  to  paint  scenery, 
with  Fuji  yama  and  cranes  flying  in  the  air, 
and  a  crimson  sun  shinning  through  the 
bamboo,  and    a   red  moon  rising  over   the 


60  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

waves,  and  golden  clouds  and  tortoises,  and 
the  Sumiyoshi  couple,  and  the  grasshopper's 
picnic,  and  the  Procession  of  Lord  Long-legs, 
and  such  like.  Then  he  stretched  a  tight 
rope  of  rice-straw  across  the  stage,  and  the 
handbills  being  stuck  up  in  all  the  barber 
shops  in  town,  and  wooden  tickets  branded 
with  "  Accomplished  and  Lucky  Tea-Ket- 
tle Performance,  Admit  one," — the  show 
was  opened.  The  house  was  full  and  the 
people  came  in  parties  bringing  their  tea- 
pots full  of  tea  and  picnic  boxes  full  of  rice 
and  eggs,  and  dumplings,  made  of  millet 
meal,  sugared  roast-pea  cakes,  and  other 
refreshments  ;  because  they  came  to  stay  all 
day.  Mothers  brought  their  babies  with 
them  for  the  children  enjoyed  it  most  of  all. 
Then  the  tinker,  dressed  up  in  his  wide 
ceremonial  clothes,  with  a  big  fan  in  his 
hand,  came  out  on  the    platform,  made  his 


rm  WONDMFtJL    TEA-^Ef M.  61 

bow  and  set  the  wonderful  tea-kettle  on  the 
stage.  Then  at  a  wave  of  his  fan,  the  ket- 
tle ran  around  on  four  legs,  half  badger  and 
half  iron,  clanking  its  lid  and  wagging  its  tail* 
Next  it  turned  into  a  badger,  swelled  out  its 
body  and  beat  a  tune  on  it  like  a  drum.  It 
danced  a  jig  on  the  tight  rope.*  and  walked 
the  slack  rope,  holding  a  fan,  or  an  umbrella 
in  his  paw,  stood  on  his  head,  and  finally  at 
a  flourish  of  his  masters'  fan  became  a  cold 
and  rusty  tea-kettle  again,  The  audience 
were  wild  with  delight,  and  as  the  fame  of 
the  wonderful  tea-kettle  spread,  many  peo-> 
pie  came  from  great  distances. 

Year  after  year  the  tinker  exhibited  the 
wonder  until  he  grew  immensely  rich.  Then 
he  retired  from  the  show  business,  and  out 
of  gratitude  took  the  old  kettle  to  the  temple 
again  and  deposited  it  there  as  a  precious 
relic.  It  was  then  named  Bumbukti  Dai 
Mio  Jin  (The  Great  Illustrious,  Accom- 
plished in  Literature  and  the  Military  Art)* 


PEACH-PRINCE,  AND    THE    TREAS- 
URE ISLAND. 


ERY  LONG,  LONG  AGO,  there 
lived  an  old  man  and  woman  in 
a  village  near  a  mountain,  from 
which  flowed  a  stream  of  purest 
water.  This  old  couple  loved 
each  other  so  dearly  and  lived  together  so 
happily,  that  the  neighbors  called  them 
oshi-dori  fit-fit  (a  love-bird  couple),  after 
the  mandarin  ducks  which  always  dwell 
together  in  pairs,  and  are  so  affectionate 
that  they  are  said  to  pine  and  die  if  one  be 
taken  from  the  other.  The  old  man  was  a 
woodcutter,  and  the  old  woman  kept  house^ 


PEACH-MINCE  AND  THE  TREASURE  ISLAND.     63 

but  they  were  very  lonely  fur  they  had  no 
child,  and  often  grieved  over  their  hard  lot. 

One  day  while  the  man  was  out  on  the 
mountain  cutting  brush,  his  old  crone  took 
her  shallow  tub  and  clothes  down  to  the 
brook  to  wash.  She  had  not  yet  begun, 
when  she  saw  a  peach  floating  with  its  stem 
and  two  leaves  in  the  stream.  She  picked 
up  the  fruit  and  set  it  aside  to  take  home 
and  share  it  with  her  old  man.  When  he 
returned  she  set  it  before  him,  not  dreaming 
what  was  in  it.  He  was  just  about  to  cut 
it  open,  when  the  peach  fell  in  half,  and 
there  lay  a  little  baby  boy.  The  happy  old 
couple  rejoiced  over  him  and  reared  him 
tenderly.  Because  he  was  their  first  child 
(taro)  and  born  of  a  peach  (momo)  they 
called  him  Momotaro  or  Peach-darling. 

The  most  wonderful  thing  in  the  child , 
was  his  great  strength !     Even  when  still  a 


64  japamese  fairy  would, 

baby ,  he  would  astonish  his  foster -mother 
by  standing  on  the  mats,  and  lifting  her 
wash  tub,  or  kettle  of  hot  tea5  which  he 
would  balance  above  his  head  without  spill- 
ing a  drop.  The  little  fellow  grew  to  be 
strong  and  brave  and  good,  He  was  always 
kind  to  his  parents  and  saved  them  many 
a  step  and  much  toil.  He  practiced 
archery,  wrestling,  and  handling  the  iron 
club,  until  he  was  not  afraid  of  anybody  or 
anything,  He  even  laughed  at  the  oni,  who, 
were  demons  living  in  the  clouds  or  on  lone- 
ly islands  in  t\v  sea.  Momotaro  was  also 
very  kind  to  birds  and  animals,  so  that  they 
Were  very  tame,  and  became  his  friends* 
knew  him  and  called  him  by  name. 

Now  there  was  an  island  far  out  in  the 
ocean,  inhabited  by  onis  with  horns  in  their 
heads,  and  big  sharp  tusks  in  their  mouths, 
who  ravaged  the    shores  of  Japan    and  ate 


PEACH-PRINCE  AND  THE  TREASURE  ISLAND.      65 

up  the  people.  In  the  centre  of  the  island 
was  the  giant  Oni's  castle,  built  inside  a 
great  cave  which  was  full  of  all  kinds  of 
treasures  such  as  every  one  wants.  These 
are  : 

1.  The  hat  which  makes  the  one  who 
puts  it  on  invisible.  It  looks  just  like  a 
straw  hat,  but  has  a  tuft  of  fine  grass  on 
the  top,  and  a  pink  fringe  like  the  lining  of 
shells,  around  the  brim. 

2.  A  coat  like  a  farmer's  grass  rain-cloak, 
which  makes  the  wearer  invisible. 

3.  The  crystal  jewels  which  flash  fire, 
and  govern  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide. 

4.  Shippo,  or  "  the  seven  jewels,"  namely 
gold,  and  silver,  branch  of  red  coral,  agate, 
emerald,  crystal    and  pearl.     All    together 

called  takare  mono,  or  precious  treasures, 
Momotaro   made  up   his  mind  to  conquer 

these  demons,  and  get  their  treasures.     He 

6 


66  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

prepared  his  weapons  and  asked  the  old 
woman  to  make  him  some  millet  dumplings. 
So  the  old  lady  ground  the  millet  seeds  into 
meal,  the  old  man  kneaded  the  dough,  and 
both  made  the  dumplings  which  the  little 
hero  carefully  stuck  on  skewers  and  stowed 
away  in  a  bamboo  basket-box.  This  he 
wrapped  in  a  silk  napkin,  and  flung  it  over 
his  shoulder.  Seizing  his  iron  club  he  stuck 
his  flag  in  his  back  as  the  sign  of  war.  The 
flag  was  of  white  silk,  crossed  by  two  black 
bars  at  the  top,  and  underneath  these,  was 
embroidered  the  device  of  a  peach  with  a 
stem  and  two  leaves  floating  on  a  running 
stream.  This  was  his  crest  or  sashimono 
(banneret).  Then  he  bade  the  old  folks 
good-bye  and  walked  off  briskly.  He  took 
his  little  dog  with  him,  giving  him  a  millet 
dumpling  now  and  then. 

As  he   passed    along  he   met  a  monkey 


PEACH-PRINCE  AND  THE  TREASURE  ISLAND.     67 

chattering  and  showing  his  teeth.  The 
monkey  said, 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Mr.  Peach-Darl- 
ing ?" 

"  I'm  going  to  the  onis  island  to  get  his 
treasures/' 

"  What  have  you  got  good  in  your  pack- 
age?" 

"Millet  dumplings.     Have  one  ?" 

"  Yes,  give  me  one,  and  I'll  go  with  you" 
said  the  monkey. 

So  the  monkey  ate  the  dumpling,  and  boy 
dog  and  monkey  all  trudged  on  together.  A 
little  further  on  a  pheasant  met  them  and 
said  : 

"  Ohio,  Momotar  ">,  doko?"  (Good  morning, 
Mr.  Peach-Prince,  where  are  you  going  ?). 
Peach-prince  told  him,  and  at  the  same  time 
offered  him  a  dumpling.  This  made  the 
pheasant  his  friend. 


68  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

Peach-prince  and  his  little  army  of  three 
retainers  journeyed  on  until  they  reached 
the  sea-shore.  There  they  found  a  big  boat 
into  which  Peach-prince  with  the  dog  and 
monkey  embarked,  while  the  pheasant  flew* 
over  to  the  island  to  find  a  safe  place  to 
land,  so  as  to  take  the  onis  by  surprise. 

They  quietly  reached  the  door  of  the 
cave,  and  then  Momotaro  beat  in  the  gate 
with  his  iron  club.  Rushing  into  the  castle, 
he  put  the  small  onis  to  flight,  and  dashing 
forward,  the  little  hero  would  nearly  have 
reached  the  room  where  the  giant  oni  was 
just  waking  up  after  a  nights'  drunkenness. 
With  a  terrible  roar  he  advanced  to  gobble 
up  Peach-prince,  when  the  dog  ran  behind 
and  bit  the  oni  in  the  leg.  The  monkey 
climbed  up  his  back  and  blinded  him  with 
his  paws  while  the  pheasant  flew  in  his  face.. 
Then  Peach-prince  beat  him  with    his  iron 


PRACH-PRINCE  AND  THE  TREASURE  ISLAND.     69 

club,  until  he  begged  for  his  life  and 
promised  to  give  up  all  his  treasures. 

The  onis  brought  all  their  precious  things 
out  of  the  store-house  and  laid  them  on 
great  tables  or  trays  before  the  little  hero 
and  his  little  army. 

Momotaro  sat  on  a  rock,  witL  his  little 
army  of  three  retainers  around  him,  holding 
his  fan,  with  his  hands  akimbo  on  his  knees, 
just  as  mighty  generals  do  after  a  battle, 
when  they  receive  the  submission  of  their 
enemies.  On  his  right  sat  kneeling  on  the 
ground  his  faithful  monkey,  while  the 
pheasant  and  dog  sat  on  the  left. 

After  the  onis  had  surrendered  all,  they 
fell  down  on  their  hands  and  knees-  with 
their  faces  in  the  dust,  and  acknowledged 
Peach-Prince  as  their  master,  and  swore 
they  would  ever  h  inceforth  be  his  slaves. 
Then  Peach-Prince,  with  a  wave  of  his  fan 


70  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

bade  them  rise  up  and  carry  the  treasures  to 
the  largest  ship  they  had,  and  to  point  the 
prow  to  the  land.  This  done,  Momotaro  and 
his  company  got  on  board,  and  the  onis 
bowed  farewell. 

A  stiff  breeze  sprang  up  and  sent  the  ship 
plowing  through  the  waters,  and  bent  out 
the  great  white  sail  like  a  bow.  On  the  prow 
was  a  long  black  tassel  like  the  mane  of  a 
horse,  that  at  every  lurch  dipped  in  the 
waves,  and  as  it  rose  flung  off  the  spray. 

The  old  couple  becoming  anxious  after 
their  Peach-darling,  had  traveled  down  to 
the  sea  shore,  and  arrived  just  as  the  treas- 
ure ship  hove  in  sight.  Oh  how  beautiful  it 
looked  with  its  branches  of  red  coral,  and 
shining  heaps  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  in- 
visible coat  and  hat,  the  dazzling  sheen  of 
the  jewels  of  the  ebbing  and  the  flowing 
tide,  the  glistening  pearls,  and  piles  of  agate 
and  crystal. 


-,.>*    OF  THR         -^ 

[UNIVERSITY) 


PEACH-PRINCE  AND  THE  TREASURE  ISLAND.      71 

Momotaro  came  home  laden  with  riches 
enough  to  keep  the  old  couple  in  comfort  all 
their  lives,  and  he  himself  lived  in  great 
state.  He  knighted  the  monkey,  the  dog 
and  the  pheasant,  and  made  them  his  body- 
guard. Then  he  married  a  beautiful  princess 
and  lived  happily  till  he  died. 


THE  FOX  AND  THE  BADGER. 


>HERE  is  a  certain  mountainous 
district  in  Shikoku  in  which  a 
skillful  hunter  had  trapped  or 
shot  so  many  foxes  and  badgers 
that  only  a  few  were  left.  These 
were  an  old  grey  badger  and  a  female  fox 
with  one  cub.  Though  hard  pressed  by 
hunger,  neither  dared  to  touch  a  loose  piece 
of  food,  lest  a  trap  might  be  hidden  under 
it.  Indeed  they  scarcely  stirred  out  of  their 
holes  except  at  night,  lest  the  hunter's  arrow 
should  strike  them.  At  last  the  two  ani- 
mals held  a  council  together  to  decide  what 
to  do,  whether  to  emigrate  or  to  attempt  to 


THE  FOX  AND  THE  BADGER.  73 

outwit  their  enemy.  They  thought  a  long 
while,  when  finally  the  badger  having  hit 
upon  a  good  plan,  cried  out : 

"  I  have  it.  Do  you  transform  yourself 
into  a  man.  I'll'pretend  to  be  dead.  Then 
you  can  bind  me  up  and  sell  me  in  the  town. 
With  the  money  paid  you  can  buy  some 
food.  Then  I'll  get  loose  and  come  back. 
The  next  week  I'll  sell  you  and  you  can 
escape/' 

"Ha!  ha!  ha! yoroskhc>yoroshiu"  (good, 
good,)  cried  both  together.  "  It's  a  capital 
plan  "  said  Mrs.  Fox. 

So  the  Fox  changed  herself  into  a  human 
form,  and  the  badger,  pretending  to  be  dead, 
was  tied  up  with  straw  ropes. 

Slinging  him  oyer  her  shoulder,  the  fox 
went  to  town,  sold  the  badger,  and  buying 
a  lot  of  tofu  (bean-cheese)  and  one  or  two 
chickens,  made  a  feast.     By  this   time  the 


74  JAPANESE  EAIRYx WORLD. 

badger  had  got  loose,  for  the  man  to  whom 
he  was  sold,  thinking  him  dead,  had  not 
watched  him  carefully.  So  scampering  away 
to  the  mountains  he  met  the  fox,  who  con- 
gratulated him,  while  both  feasted  merrily. 

The  next  week  the  badger  took  human 
form,  and  going  to  town  sold  the  fox,  who 
made  believe  to  be  dead.  But  the  badger 
being  an  old  skin-flint,  and  very  greedy, 
wanted  all  the  money  and  food  for  himself. 
So  he  whispered  in  the  man's  ear  to  watch 
the  fox  well  as  she  was  only  feigning  to  be 
dead.  So  the  man  taking  up  a  club  gave 
the  fox  a  blow  on  the  head,  which  finished 
her.  The  badger,  buying  a  good  dinner, 
ate  it  all  himself,  and  licked  his  chops, 
never  even  thinking  of  the  fox's  cub. 

The  cub  after  waiting  a  long  time  for  its 
mother  to  come  back,  suspected  foul  play, 
and  resolved  on  revenge.     So  going  to   the 


THE  FOX  AND  THE  BADGER.  75 

badger  lie  challenged  him  to  a  trial  of  skill 
in  the  art  of  transformation.  The  badger 
accepted  right  off,  for  he  despised  the  cub 
and  wished  to  be  rid  of  him. 

"  Well  what  do  you  want  to  do  first  ?  said 
Sir  Badger." 

"  I  propose  that  you  go  and  stand  on  the 
Big  Bridge  leading  to  the  city,''  said  the 
cub,  "and  wait  for  my  appearance.  I  shall 
come  in  splendid  garments,  and  with  many 
followers  in  my  train.  If  you  recognize 
me,  you  win,  and  I  lose.    If  you  fail,  I  win.'' 

So  the  badger  went  and  waited  behind  a 
tree.  Soon  a  daimio  riding  in  a  palanquin, 
with  a  splendid  retinue  of  courtiers  appeared, 
coming  up  the  road.  Thinking  this  was 
the  fox-cub  changed  into  a  nobleman, 
although  wondering  at  the  skill  of  the  young 
fox,  the  badger  went  up  to  the  palanquin  and 
told  the  person  inside  that  he  was  recognized 
and  had  lost  the  game. 


76  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

"  What !  "  said  the  daimio's  followers, 
who  were  real  men,  and  surrounding  the 
badger,  they  beat  him  to  death. 

The  fox-cub,  who  was  looking  on  from  a 
hill  near  by,  laughed  in  derision,  and  glad 
that  treachery  was  punished,  scampered 
away. 


THE    SEVEN   PATRONS  OE    JIAPPh 

NESS. 


VERY  child  knows  who  the  Ski* 
chi  fuku  Jin  or  seven  Patrons 
of  Happiness  are.  They  have 
charge  of  Long  Life,  Riches., 
Daily  Food,  Contentment^ 
Talents,  Glory,  and  Love.  Their  images 
carved  in  ivory,  wood,  stone,  or  cast  in  bronze 
are  found  in  every  house  or  sold  in  the  stores 
or  are  painted  on  shop  signs  or  found  in 
picture  books.  They  are  a  jolly  company 
and  make  a  happy  family.  On  New  Year's 
eve  a  picture  of  the  Treasure-ship  (Takare- 
bune)  laden  with  shippo  (the  seven  jewels) 
and  all  the  good  things  of  life   which  men 


/8  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WOftLD. 

most  desire  is  hung  up  in  houses.  The  ship 
is  coming  into  port  and  the  passengers  are 
the  seven  happy  fairies  who  will  make  gifts 
to  the  people.  These  seven  jewels  are  the 
same  as  those  which  Momotaro  brought 
back  from  the  oni's  island. 

First  there  is  Fukoruku  Jin  the  patron  of 
Long  Life  or  Length  of  Days.  He  has  an 
enormously  high  forehead  rounded  at  the 
top  which  makes  his  head  look  like  a  sugar- 
loaf.  It  is  bald  and  shiny.  A  few  stray 
white  hairs  sometimes  sprout  up,  and  the 
barber  to  reach  them  has  to  prop  a  ladder 
against  his  head  to  climb  up  and  apply  his 
razor.  This  big  head  comes  from  thinking 
so  much.  His  eyebrows  are  cotton-white, 
and  a  long  snowy  beard  falls  down  over  his 
breast. 

Once  in  a  while  in  a  good  humor  he  ties 
a  handkerchief  over  his  high  slippery  crown 


ME  SEVEN  PATRONS  OE   HAPPINESS.  79 

and  allows    little  boys  to  climb  up  on  top— 
that  is  if  the}7  are  good  and  can  write  well. 

When  he  wants  to  show  how  strong  and 
lively  lie  is  even  though  so  old,  he  lets 
Daikoku  the  fat  fellow  ride  on  top  of  his  head, 
while  he  smokes  his  pipe  and  wades  across 
a  river.  Daikoku  has  to  hold  on  tightly  or 
he  will  slip  down  and  get  a  ducking. 
H  Usually  the  old  shiny  head  is  a  very 
solemn  gentleman,  and  Walks  slowly  along 
with  his  staff  in  one  hand  while  with  the 
other  he  strokes  his  long  eyebrows.  The 
tortoise  and  the  crane  are  always  with  him, 
for  these  are  his  pets.  Sometimes  a  stag 
with  hair  white  with  age,  walks  behind  him* 
Every  body  likes  Fukoruku  Jin  because 
every  one  wants  to  get  his  favor  and  live 
long;  until,  like  a  lobster,  their  backs  are 
bent  with  age.  At  a  wedding  you  will 
always  see  a  picture  of  white-bearded  and 
shiny-pated  Fukoruku  Jin* 


80  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD, 

J  Daikoku  is  a  short  chubby  fellow  with 
eyes  half  sunk  in  fat  but  twinkling  with  fun. 
He  has  a  flat  cap  set  on  his  head  like  the 
kind  which  babies  wear*  a  loose  sack  over 
his  shoulders ,  and  big  boots  on  his  feet* 
His  throne  is  two  straw  bags  of  rice,  and 
his  badge  of  office  is  a  mallet  or  hammer, 
which  makes  people  rich  when  he  shakes  it* 
The  hammer  is  the  symbol  of  labor,  show- 
ing that  people  may  expect  to  get  rich  only 
bv  hard  work.  One  end  of  it  is  carved  to 
represent  the  jewel  of  the  ebbing  and  the 
flowing  tides,  because  merchants  get  rich  by 
commerce  on  the  sea  and  must  watch  the 
tides.  He  is  often  seen  holding  the  arith- 
metic frame  on  which  you  can  count,  do  sums* 
subtract,  multiply,  or  divide,  by  sliding  balls 
up  and  down  a  row  of  sticks  set  in  a  frame, 
instead  of  writing  figures.  Beside  him  is  a 
ledger  and  day-book.     His   favorite  animal 


THE  SEVEN  PATRONS    OF  HAPPINESS.  81 

is  the  rat,  which  like  some  rich  men's  pets, 
eats  or  runs  away  with  his  wealth. 

The  great  silver-white  radish  called 
daikon,  two  feet  long  and  as  big  as  a  man's 
calf  is  always  seen  near  him  because  it  signi- 
fies flourishing  prosperity. 

He  keeps  his  bag  tightly  shut,  for  money 
easily  runs  away  when  the  purse  is  once 
opened.  He  never  lets  go  his  hammer,  for 
it  is  only  by  constant  care  that  any  one  can 
keep  money  after  he  gets  it.  Even  when 
he  frolics  with  Fukuroku  Jin,  and  rides  on 
his  head,  he  keeps  his  hammer  ready  swing- 
ing at  his  belt.     He  has  huge  lop  ears. 

Once  in  a  while,  when  he  wishes  to  take 
exercise,  and  Fukuroku  Jin  wants  to  show 
how  frisky  he  can  be.  even  if  he  is  old,  they 
have  a  wrestling  match  together.  Daikoku 
nearly  always  beats,  because  Fukuroku  Jin 

7 


82  JAPANESE  FAIKY    WORLD. 

is  so  tall  that  he  has  to  bend  down  to  grip 
Daikoku,  who  is  fat  and  short,  and  thus  be 
becomes  top-heavy.  Then  Daikoku  gets 
his  rival's  long  head  under  his  left  arm, 
seizes  him  over  his  back  by  the  belt,  and 
throws  him  over  his  shoulder  flat  on  the 
ground.  But  if  Fukuroku  Jin  can  only  get 
hold  of  Daikoku' s  lop  ears,  both  fall  to- 
gether Then  they  laugh  heartily  and  try 
it  again. 

Ebisu  is  the  patron  of  daily  food,  which  is 
rice  and  fish,  and  in  old  times  was  chiefly 
fish.  He  is  nearly  as  fat  as  Daikoku,  but 
wears  a  court  noble's  high  cap.  He  is  always 
fishing  or  enjoying  his  game.  When  very 
happy,  he  sits  on  a  rock  by  the  sea,  with  hi& 
right  leg  bent  under  him,  and  a  big  red  fish,, 
called  the  tai,  under  his  left  arm.  He  car- 
ries a  straw  wallet  on  his  back  to  hold  his 
fish  and  keep    it  fresh.     Often    he  is    seen 


ME    SEVEN  PATHONS  OF  HAPPINESS.  83 

Standing  knee-deep  in  the  water,  pole  in 
hand,  watching  for  a  nibble.  Some  say  that 
Ebisu  is  the  same  scamp  that  goes  by  the 
other  name  of  Sosanoo. 

Hotei  is  the  patron  of  contentment,  and 
of  course  is  the  father  of  happiness.  He 
does  not  wear  much  clothing,  for  the  truth 
is  that  all  his  property  consists  of  an  old, 
ragged  wrapper,  a  fan,  and  a  wallet.  He  is 
as  round  as  a  pudding,  and  as  fat  as  if  rolled 
out  of  dough.  His  body  is  like  a  lump  of 
mochi  pastry,  and  his  limbs  like  dango  dump- 
lings. He  has  lop  ears  that  hang  down  over 
his  shoulders,  a  tremendous  double  chin, 
<and  a  round  belly.  Though  he  will  not  let 
his  beard  grow  long,  the  slovenly  old  fellow 
never  has  it  shaven  when  he  ought  to.  He 
is  a  jolly  vagabond,  and  never  fit  for  com- 
pany ;  but  he  is  a  great  friend  of  the  chil- 
dren, who  romp  over  his  knees  and  shoul- 


84  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

ders,  pull  his  ears  and  climb  up  over  his 
shaven  head.  He  always  keeps  something 
good  for  them  in  his  wallet.  Sometimes  he 
opens  it  wide,  and  then  makes  them  guess 
what  is  inside.  They  try  to  peep  in  but 
are  not  tall  enough  to  look  over  the  edge. 
He  makes  tops,  paints  pictures  or  kites  for 
the  boys,  and  is  the  children's  greatest 
friend.  When  the  seven  patrons  meet  to- 
gether, Hotei  is  apt  to  drink  more  wine 
than  is  good  for  him. 

Toshitoku  is  almost  the  only  one  of  the 
seven  who  never  lays  aside  his  dignity.  He 
has  a  very  grave  countenance.  He  is  the 
patron  of  talents.  His  pet  animal  is  a  spot- 
ted fawn.  He  travels  about  a  good  deal  to 
find  and  reward  good  boys,  who  are  diligent 
in  their  studies,  and  men  who  are  fitted  to 
rule.  In  one  hand  he  carries  a  crooked 
staff  of  bamboo,  at  the  top  of  which  is  hung 


THE    SEVEN  PATRONS  OF  HAPPINESS.  85 

a  book  or  roll  of  manuscript.  His  dress  is 
like  that  of  a  learned  doctor,  with  square 
cap,  stole,  and  high-toed  slippers. 

Bishamon  is  the  patron  of  glory  and  fame. 
He  is  a  mighty  soldier,  with  a  golden  helmet, 
breastplate  and  complete  armor.  He  is  the 
protector  of  priests  and  warriors.  He 
gives  them  skill  in  fencing,  horsemanship 
and  archery.  He  holds  a  pagoda  in  one 
hand  and  a  dragon  sword  in  the  other.  His 
pet  animal  is  the  tiger. 

Six  out  of  the  jolly  seven  worthies  are 
men.  Benten  is  the  only  lady.  She  is  the 
patron  of  the  family  and  of  the  sea.  She 
plays  the  flute  and  the  guitar  for  the  others, 
and  amuses  them  at  their  feasts,  sometimes 
even  dancing  for  them.  Her  real  home  is 
in  Riu  Gu,  and  she  is  the  Queen  of  the  world 
under  the  sea.  She  often  dwells  in  the  sea 
or  ocean  caves.     Her  favorite  animal  is  the 


86  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

snake,  and  her  servants  are  the  dragons. 

Once  a  year  the  jolly  seven  meet  together 
to  talk  over  old  times,  relate  their  advent- 
ures, and  have  a  supper  together.  Then 
they  proceed  to  business,  which  is  to  arrange 
all  the  marriages  for  the  coming  year.  They 
have  a  great  many  hanks  of  red  and  white 
silk,  which  are  the  threads  of  fate  of  those 
to  be  married  :  The  white  threads  are  the 
men,  the  red  are  the  women.  At  first  they 
select  the  threads  very  carefully,  and  tie  a 
great  many  pairs  or  couples  neatly  and 
strongly  together,  so  that  the  matches  are 
perfect.  All  such  marriages  of  threads 
make  happy  marriages  among  human  beings. 
But  by-and-by  they  get  tired,  and  lazy,  and 
instead  of  tying  the  knots  carefully,  they 
hurry  up  the  work  and  then  jumble  them 
carelessly,  and  finally  toss  and  tangle  up  all 
the  rest  in  a  muss. 


THE  SEVEN  PATRONS  OF    HAPPINESS.  87 

This  is  the  reason  why  so  many  marriages 
are  unhappy. 

Then  they  begin  to  frolic  like  big  boys. 
Benten  plays  the  guitar,  and  Bishamon  lies 
down  on  the  floor  resting  with  his  elbows  to 
hear  it.  Hotei  drinks  wine  out  of  a  shallow 
red  cup  as  wide  as  a  dinner  plate.  Daikoku 
and  Fukuroku  Jin  begin  to  wrestle,  and 
when  Daikoku  gets  his  man  down,  he  pounds 
his  big  head  with  an  empty  gourd  while 
Toshitoku  and  Ebisu  begin  to  eat  tai  fish. 
When  t  is  fun  is  over,  Benten  and  Fukuroku 
Jin  play  a  game  of  checkers,  while  the 
others  look  on  and  bet ;  except  Hotei  the 
fat  fellow,  who  is  asleep.  Then  they  get 
ashamed  of  themselves  for  gambling,  and 
after  a  few  days  the  party  breaks  up  and 
each  one  goes  to  his  regular  business  again. 


DAIKOKU  AND  THE  ONI. 


LONG  WHILE  AGO,  when  the 
idols  of  Buddha  and  his  host  of 
disciples  came  to  Japan,  after 
traveling  through  China  from 
India,  they  were  very  much 
vexed  because  the  people  still  liked  the  little 
black  Mlow  named  Daikoku.  Even  when 
they  became  Buddhists  they  still  burned  in- 
cense to  Daikoku,  because  he  was  the  patron 
of  wealth;  for  everybody  then,  as  now, 
wanted  to  be  rich.  So  the  Buddhist  idols 
determined  to  get  rid  of  the  little  fat  fellow. 
How  to  do  it  was  the  question.  At  last  they 
called  Yemma,the  judge  of  the  lower  regions, 
and  gave  him  the  power  to  destroy  Dai- 
koku. 


DAIKOKU  AND  THE  ONI.  89 

Now  Yemma  had  under  him  a  whole 
legion  of  oni,  some  green,  some  black,  others 
blue  as  indigo,  and  others  of  a  vermillion 
color,  which  he  usually  sent  on  ordinary 
errands. 

But  for  so  important  an  expedition  he 
now  called  Shino  a  very  cunning  old  fellow, 
and  ordered  him  to  kill  or  remove  Daikoku 
out  of  the  way. 

Shino  made  his  bow  to  his  master, 
tightened  his  tiger-skin  belt  around  his 
loins  and  set  off. 

It  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  find  Daikoku, 
even  though  every  one  worshipped  him. 
So  the  oni  had  to  travel  a  long  way,  and 
ask  a  great  many  questions  of  people,  and 
often  lose  his  way  before  he  got  any  clue. 
One  day  he  met  a  sparrow  who  directed 
him  to  Daikoku' s  palace,  where  among  all 
his  money-bags  and    treasure  piled  to  the 


90  JAPANESE    FAIRY      WORLD. 

ceiling,  the  fat  and  lop-eared  fellow  was 
accustomed  to  sit  eating  daikon  radish,  and 
amuse  himself  with  his  favorite  pets,  the 
rats.  Around  him  was  stored  in  straw  bags 
his  rice  which  he  considered  more  precious 
than  money. 

Entering  the  gate,  the  oni  peeped  about 
cautiously  but  saw  no  one.  He  went 
further  on  till  he  came  to  a  large  store 
house  standing  alone  and  built  in  the  shape 
of  a  huge  rice-measure.  Not  a  door  or  win- 
dow could  be  seen,  but  climbing  up  a  nar- 
row plank  set  against  the  top  edge  he  peeped 
over,  and  there  sat  Daikoku. 

The  oni  descended  and  got  into  the  room. 
Then  he  thought  it  would  be  an  easy  thing 
to  pounce  upon  Daikoku.  He  was  already 
chuckling  to  himself  ov  3r  the  prospect  of 
such  wealth  being  his  own,  when  Daikoku 
squeaked  out  to  his  chief  rat. 


DAIKOKU  AND  THE  ONI.  91 

"  Nedzwni  san,  (Mr.  Rat)  I  feel  some 
strange  creature  must  be  near.  Go  chase 
him  off  the  premises." 

Away  scampered  the  rat  to  the  garden 
and  plucked  a  sprig  of  holly  with  leaves  full 
of  thorns  like  needles.  With  this  in  his 
fore-paw,  he  ran  at  the  oni,  whacked  him 
soundly,  and  stuck  him  all  over  with  the 
sharp  prickles. 

The  oni  yelling  witli  pain  ran  away  as 
fast  as  he  could  run.  He  was  so  frightened 
that  he  never  stopped  until  he  reached 
Yemma's  palace,  when  he  fell  down  breath- 
less. He  then  told  his  master  the  tale  of 
his  adventure,  but  begged  that  he  might 
never  again  be  sent  against  Daikoku. 

So  the  Buddhist  idols  finding  they  could 
not  banish  or  kill  Daikoku,  agreed  to  recog- 
nize him,  and  so  they  made  peace  with  him 
and  to  this  day  Buddhists  and  Shintoists 
alike  worship  the  fat  little  god  of  wealth. 


92  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

When  people  heard  how  the  chief  oni  had 
been  driven  away  by  only  a  rat  armed  with 
holly,  they  thought  it  a  good  thing  to  keep 
off  all  oni.  So  ever  afterward,  even  to  this 
day,  after  driving  out  all  the  bad  creatures 
with  parched  beans,  they  place  sprigs  of 
holly  at  their  door-posts  on  New  Year's  eve, 
to  keep  away  the  oni  and  all  evil  spirits. 


BENKEt  AND  THE  BELL. 


N  ONE  of  the  hills  overlooking  the 
blue  sky's  mirror  of  Lake  Biwa, 
stands  the  ancient  monastery  of 
Miidera  whichw  as  founded  over 
1,200  years  ago,  by  the  pious* 
mikado  Tenchi. 

Near  the  entrance,  on  a  platform  con- 
structed of  stoutest  timbers,  stands  a  bronze 
bell  five  and  a  half  feet  high.  It  lias  on  it 
none  of  the  superscriptions  so  commonly 
found  on  Japanese  bells,  and  though  its 
surface  is  covered  with  scratches  it  was  once 
as  brilliant  as  a  mirror.  This  old  bell, 
which  is  visited  by  thousands  of  people  from 
all  parts  of  Japan  who  come  to  wonder  at  it, 
is  remarkable  for  many  things. 


§4  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WOfttDi 

Over  two  thousand  years  ago,  say  thd 
bonzes*  it  hung  in  the  temple  of  Gihon  Shoja 
in  India  which  Buddha  built.  After  his 
death  it  got  into  the  possession  of  the  Dragon 
King  of  the  World  under  the  Sea,  When 
the  hero  Toda  the  Archer  shot  the  enemy 
of  the  queen  of  the  Under- World,  she  pre^ 
sented  him  with  many  treasures  and  among 
them  this  great  bell,  which  she  caused  to  be 
landed  on  the  shores  of  the  lake.  Toda 
however  was  not  able  to  remove  it>  so  he 
presented  it  to  the  monks  at  Miidera.  With 
great  labor  it  was  brought  to  the  hill-top 
and  hung  in  this  belfry  where  it  rung  out 
daily  matins  and  orisons,  filling  the  lake 
and  hill  sides  with  sweet  melody. 

Now  it  was  one  of  the  rules  of  the  Budd- 
hists that  no  woman  should  be  allowed  to 
ascend  the  hill  or  enter  the  monastery  of 
Miidera.        The  bonzes  associated  females 


BENKEI  ANI)   ¥&K  BELL.  95 

&rid  wicked  influences  together;  Hence  the 
prohibition. 

A  noted  beauty  of  Kioto  hearing  of  th£ 
polished  face  of  the  bell,  resolved  in  spite 
of  the  law  against  her  sex  to  ascend  the  hill 
to  dress  her  hair  and  powder  her  face  in  the 
mirror-like  surface  of  the  bell. 

So  selecting  an  hour  when  she  knew  the 
priests  would  be  too  busy  at  study  of  the 
sacred  rolls  to  notice  her,  she  ascended  the 
hill  and  entered  the  belfry.  Looking  into 
the  smooth  surface,  she  saw  her  own  sparks 
ling  eyes,  her  cheeks,  flushed  rosy  with  ex- 
ercise, her  dimples  playing,  and  then  her 
whole  form  reflected  as  in  her  own  silver 
mirror,  before  which  she  daily  sat. 
Charmed  as  much  by  the  vastness  as  the 
brilliancy  of  the  reflection,  she  stretched 
forth  her  hand,  and  touching  her  finger-tips 
to   the    bell  prayed  aloud  that  she  might 


96  JAPANESE   FAIM  WORLD, 

possess  just  such  a  mirror  of  equal  size  and 
brightness. 

But  the  bell  was  outraged  at  the  impiety 
of  the  woman's  touch,  and  the  cold  metal 
shrank  back,  leaving  a  hollow  place,  and 
spoiling  the  even  surface  of  the  bell.  From 
that  time  forth  the  bell  gradually  lost  its 
polish,  and  became  dull  and  finally  dark  like 
other  bells. 

When  Benkei  was  amonk,he  was  possessed 
of  a  mighty  desire  to  steal  this  bell  and  hang 
it  up  atHiyeisan.  So  one  night  he  went  over 
to  Miidera  hill  and  cautiously  crept  up  to 
the  belfry  and  unhooked  it  from  the  great 
iron  link  which  held  it.  How  to  get  it 
down  the  mountain  was  now  the  question. 

Should  he  let  it  roll  down,  the  monks  at 
Miidera  would  hear  it  bumping  over  the 
stones.  Nor  could  he  carry  it  in  his  arms, 
for  it  was  too    big  around    (16  feet)  for  him 


BENREI  AND  THE   BELL.  97 

to  grasp  and  hold.  He  could  not  put  his 
head  in  it  like  a  candle  in  a  snuffer,  for  then 
he  would  not  be  able  to  see  his  way  down. 

So  climbing  into  the  belfry  he  pulled  out 
the  cross-beam  with  the  iron  link,  and  hang- 
ing on  the  bell  put  the  beam  on  his  shoulder 
to  carry  it  in  tembimbo  style,  that  is,  like  a 
pair  of  scales. 

The  next  difficulty  was  to  balance  it,  for 
he  had  nothing  but  his  lantern  to  hang  on 
the  other  end  of  the  beam  to  balance  the  bell. 
It  was  a  prodigiously  hard  task  to  carry  his 
burden  the  six  or  seven  miles  distance  to 
Hiyeisan.  It  was  "trying  to  balance  a 
bronze  bell  with  a  paper  lantern.'' 

The  work  made  him  puff  and  blow  and 
sweat  until  he  was  as  hungry  as  a  badger, 
but  he  finally  succeeded  in  hooking  it  up  in 
the  belfry    at  Hiyeisan. 

8 


98  JAPANESE  FAIRY   WORLD. 

Then  all  the  fellow  priests  of  Benkei  got 
up,  though  at  night,  to  welcome  him.  They 
admired  his  bravery  and  strength  and 
wished  to  strike  the  bell  at  once  to  show 
their  joy. 

"No,  I  won't  lift  a  hammer  or  sound  a 
note  till  you  make  me  some  soup.  T  am 
terribly  hungry,"  said  Benkei,  as  he  sat  down 
on  a  cross  piece  of  the  belfry  and  wiped  his 
forehead  with  his  cowl. 

Then  the  priests  got  out  the  iron  soup- 
pot,  five  feet  in  diameter,  and  kindling  a  fire 
made  a  huge  mess  of  soup  and  served  it  to 
Benkei.  The  lusty  monk  sipped  bowl  after 
bowl  of  the  steaming  nourishment  until  the 
pot  was  empty. 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "you  may  sound  the  bell." 

Five  or  six  of  the  young  bonzes  mounted 
the  platform  and  seized  the  rope  that  held 
the   heavy    log  suspended    from   the    roof„ 


BENKEI    AND    THE    BELL.  99 

The  manner  of  striking  the  bell  was  to  pull 
back  the  log  several  feet,  then  let  go  the 
rope,  holding  the  log  after  the  rebound. 

At  the  first  stroke  the  bell  quivered  and 
rolled  out  a  most  mournful  and  solemn 
sound  which  as  it  softened  and  died  away 
changed  into  the  distinct  murmur : 

"  I  want  to  go  back  to  Miidera,  I  want  to 
go  back  to  Miidera,  I  want  to  go-o  back  to-o 
M-i-i-de-ra  ra-a-a-a." 

"  Naru  hodo  "  said  the  priests.  "What  a 
strange  bell.  It  wants  to  go  back.  It  is  not 
satisfied  with  our  ringing." 

"Ah!  I  know  what  is  the  matter"  said 
the  aged  abbot.  "  It  must  be  sprinkled 
with  holy  water  of  Hiyeisan,  Then  it  will 
be  happy  with  us.  Ho !  page  bring  hither 
the  deep  sea  shell  full  of  sacred  water." 

So  the  pure  white  shell  full  of  the  con- 
secrated water  was  brought,  together  with 


100  JAPANESE  FAIRY   WORLD. 

the  holy  man's  brush.  Dipping  it  in  the 
water  the  abbot  sprinkled  the  bell  inside 
and  out. 

"  I  dedicate  thee,  oh  bell,  to  Hiyeisan, 
Now  strike,"  said  he,  signalling  to  the  bell- 
pullers. 

Again  the  young  men  mounted  the  plat- 
form, drew  back  the  log  with  a  lusty  pull 
and  let  fly. 

"  M-m-m-mi-mi-de-de-ra-ra  ye-e-e-e-ko-o- 
o-o-o  (Miidera  ye  ko,  I  want  to  go  back  to 
Miidera)  moaned  out  the  home-sick  bell. 

This  so  enraged  Benkei  that  he  rushed  to 
the  rope  waved  the  monks  aside  and  seizing 
the  rope  strained  every  muscle  to  jerk  the 
beam  its  entire  length  afield,  and  then  let 
fly  with  force  enough  to  crack  the  bell.  For 
a  moment  the  dense  volume  of  sound  filled 
the  ears  of  all  like  a  storm,  but  as  the  vibra- 
tions died  way,  the  bell  whined  out  : 


BENKEI  AND  THE  BELL.  101 

"  Miidera-mi-mi-de-de-ra-a-a  ye-e-e-ko-o- 
o-o-o."  "  I  want  to  go  back  to  Miidera," 
sobbed  the  bell. 

Whether  struck  at  morning,  noon  or  night 
the  bell  said  the  same  words.  No  matter 
when,  by  whom,  how  hard  or  how  gently  it 
was  struck,  the  bell  moaned  the  one  plaint 
as  if  crying,  "I  want  to  go  back  to  Miidera.'' 
"  I  want  to  go  back  to  Miidera." 

At  last  Benkei  in  a  rage  unhooked  the 
bell,  shouldered  it_beam  and  all,  and  set  off 
to  take  it  back.  Carrying  the  bell  to  the 
top  of  Hiyeisan,  he  set  it  down,  and  giving 
it  a  kick  rolled  it  down  the  valley  toward 
Miidera,  and  left  it  there.  Then  the  Miidera 
bonnes  hung  it  up  again.  Since  that  time 
the  bell  has  completely  changed  its  note, 
until  now  it  is  just  like  other  bells  in  sound 
and  behavior. 


LITTLE    SILVER'S   DREAM   OF   THE 
SHOJI. 


'0  GIN  SAN  (Miss  Little  Silver) 
was  a  young  maid  who  did  not 
care  for  strange  stories  of  ani- 
mals, so  much  as  for  those  of 
'wonder-creatures  in  the  form  of  human 
beings.  Even  of  these,  however,  she  did  not 
like  to  dream,  and  when  the  foolish  old 
nurse  would  tell  her  ghost  stories  at  night, 
she  was  terribly  afraid  they  would  appear 
to  her  in  her  sleep. 

To  avoid  this,  the  old  nurse  told  her  to 
draw  pictures  of  a  tapir,  on  the  sheet  of  white 
paper,  which,  wrapped  round  the  tiny  pil- 
low, makes  the  pillow-case  of  every  young 


LITTLE  SILVER'S  DREAM  OF  THE  SHOJI.         103 

lady,  who  rests  lier  head  on  two  inches  of  a 
bolster  in  order  to  keep  her  well-dressed 
hair  from  being  mussed  or  rumpled. 

Old  grannies  and  country  folks  believe 
that  if  you  have  a  picture  of  a  tapir  under 
the  bed  or  on  the  paper  pillow-case,  you 
will  not  have  unpleasant  dreams,  as  the 
tapir  is  said  to  eat  them. 

So  strongly  do  some  people  believe  this  that 
they  sleep  under  quilts  figured  with  the  de- 
vice of  this  long-snouted  beast.  If  in  spite 
of  this  precaution  one  should  have  a  bad 
dream,  he  must  cry  out  on  awaking,  "  tapir, 
come  eat,  tapir,  come  eat";  when  the  tapir 
will  swallow  the  dream,  and  no  evil  results 
will  happen  to  the  dreamer. 

Little  Silver  listened  with  both  eyes  and 
open  mouth  to  this  account  of  the  tapir,  and 
then  making  the  picture  and  wrapping  it 
around  her  pillow,  she  fell  asleep.       I    sus- 


104  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

pect  that  the  kowameshi  (red  rice)  of  which 
she  had  eaten  so  heartily  at  supper  time, 
until  her  waist  strings  tightened,  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  her  travels  in  dream-land. 

She  thought  she  had  gone  down  to  Ozaka, 
and  there  got  on  a  junk  and  sailed  far  away 
to  the  southwest,  through  the  Inland  sea. 
One  night  the  water  seemed  full  of  white 
ghosts  of  men  and  women.  Some  of  them 
were  walking  on,  and  in,  the  water.  Some 
were  running  about.  Here  and  there  groups 
appeared  to  be  talking  together.  Once  in  a 
while  the  junk  would  run  against  one  of 
them  ;  and  when  Little  Silver  looked  to  see 
if  he  were  hurt  or  knocked  over,  she  could 
see  nothing  until  the  junk  passed  by,  when 
the  ghost  would  appear  standing  in  the  same 
place,  as  though  the  ship  had  gone  through 
empty  air. 


LITTLE  SILVER'S  DREAM  OF  THE  SHOJI.        105 

Occasionally  a  ghost  would  come  up  to  the 
side  of  the  ship,  and  in  a  squeaky  voice  ask  for 
adipper.  While  she  would  be  wondering  what 
a  ghost  wanted  to  do  with  a  dipper,  a  sailor 
would  quietly  open  a  locker,  take  out  a  dipper 
having  no  bottom,  and  give  one  every  time  he 
was  asked  for  them.  Little  Silver  noticed 
a  large  bundle  of  these  dippers  ready.  The 
ghosts  would  then  begin  to  bail  up  water 
out  of  the  sea  to  empty  it  in  the  boat.  All 
night  they  followed  the  junk,  holding  on 
with  one  hand  to  the  gunwale,  while  they 
vainly  dipped  up  water  with  the  other, 
trying  to  swamp  the  boat.  If  dippers  with 
bottoms  in  them  had  been  given  them, 
the  sailors  said,  the  boat  would  have  been 
sunk.  When  daylight  appeared  the  shadowy 
host  of  people  vanished. 

In  the  morning  they  passed  an  island,  the 
shores  of  which  were  high  rocks  of  red  coral. 


106  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

A  great  earthen  jar  stood  on  the  beach,  and 
around  it  lay  long-handled  ladles  holding  a 
half-gallon  or  more,  and  piles  of  very  large 
shallow  red  lacquered  wine  cups,  which 
seemed  as  big  as  the  full  moon.  After  the 
sun  had  been  risen  some  time,  there  came 
down  from  over  the  hills  a  troop  of  the  most 
curious  looking  people.  Many  were  short, 
little  wizen-freed  folks,  that  looked  very 
old  ;  or  rather,  they  seemed  old  before  they 
ought  to  be.  Some  were  very  aged  and 
crooked,  with  hickory-nut  faces,  and  hair  of 
a  reddish  gray  tint.  All  the  others  had 
long  scarlet  locks  hanging  loose  over  their 
heads,  and  streaming  down  their  backs. 
Their  faces  were  flushed  as  if  by  hard  drink- 
ing, and  their  pimpled  noses  resembled  huge 
red  barnacles.  No  sooner  did  they  arrive  at 
the  great  earthen  jar  than  they  ranged 
themselves  round  it.     The  old  ones  dipped 


LITTLE  SILVER'S  DREAM  OF  THE  SHOJI.         107 

out  ladles  full,  and  drank  of  the  wine  till 
they  reeled.  The  younger  ones  poured  the 
liquor  into  cups  and  drank.  Even  the  little 
infants  guzzled  quantities  of  the  yellow  sake 
from  the  shallow  cups  of  very  thin  red- 
lacquered  wood. 

Then  began  the  dance,  and  wild  and  furi- 
ous it  was.  The  leather-faced  old  sots 
tossed  their  long  reddish-grey  locks  in  the 
air,  and  pirouetted  round  the  big  sake  jar- 
The  younger  ones  of  all  ages  clapped  their 
hands,  knotted  their  handkerchiefs  over 
their  foreheads,  waved  their  dippers  or  cups 
or  fans,  and  practiced  all  kinds  of  antics, 
while  their  scarlet  hair  streamed  in  the  wind 
or  was  blown  in  their  eyes. 

The  dance  over,  they  threw  down  their 
cups  and  dippers,  rested  a  few  minutes  and 
then  took  another  heavy  drink  all  around. 

"  Now  to  work "   shouted   an   old    fellow 


108  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

whose  face  was  redder  than  his  half-bleached 
hair,  and  who  having  only  two  teeth  like 
tusks  left  looked  just  like  an  oni  (imp.)  As 
for  his  wife,  her  teeth  had  long  ago  fallen 
out  and  the  skin  of  her  face  seemed  to  have 
added  a  pucker  for  every  year  since  a  half 
century  had  rolled  over  her  head. 

Then  Little  Silver  looked  and  saw  them 
scatter.  Some  gathered  shells  and  burned 
them  to  make  lime.  Others  carried  water 
and  made  mortar,  which  they  thickened  by 
a  pulp  made  of  paper,  and  a  glue  made  by 
boiling  fish  skin.  Some  dived  under  the 
sea  for  red  coral,  which  they  hauled  up  by 
means  of  straw  ropes,  in  great  sprigs  as 
thick  as  the  branches  of  a* tree.  They 
quickly  ran  up  a  scaffold,  and  while  some  of 
the  scarlet-headed  plasterers  smeared  the 
walls,  others  below  passed  up  the  tempered 


LMLi)  Silvers  dream  of  the  shoji.      100 

tnortar  on  long  shell  shovels,  to  the  hand 
mortar-boards.  Even  at  work  they  had 
casks  and  cups  of  sake  at  hand*  while  chil-* 
dren  played  in  the  empty  kegs  and  licked 
the  gummy  sugar  left  in  some  of  them. 

"  What  is  that  house  for  ?"  asked  Little 
Silver  of  the  sailors. 

"  Oh,  that  is  the  Kura  (storehouse)  in 
which  the  King  of  the  Shoji  stores  the 
treasures  of  life,  and  health,  and  happiness, 
and  property,  which  men  throw  away,  or 
exchange  for  the  sake,  which  he  gives  them, 
by  making  funnels  of  themselves." 

"  Oh,  Yes,"  said  Little  Silver  to  herself, 
as  she  remembered  how  her  father  had  said 
of  a  certain  neighbor  who  had  lately  been 
drinking  hard,  "he  swills  sake  like  a  Shoji." 

She  also  understood  why  picnic  or  "chow- 
chow"  boxes  were  often  decorated  with 
pictures  of  Shoji,  with  their  cups  and  dip-' 


HO  JAPANESE  PAlitY  WOftLih 

pers.  For,  at  these  picnics,  many  men  get 
drunk ;  so  much  so  indeed,  that  after  a  while 
the  master  of  the  feast  orders  very  poor  and 
cheap  wine  to  be  served  to  the  guests.  He 
also  replaces  the  delicate  wine  cups  of  egg* 
shell  porcelain,  with  big  thick  tea-cups  or 
wooden  bowls,  for  the  guests  when  drunk, 
do  not  know  the  difference. 

She  also  now  understood  why  it  was  com- 
monly said  of  a  Mr.  Matsu,  who  had  once 
been  very  rich  but  was  now  a  poor  sot,  "His 
property  has  all  gone  to  the  Shoji." 

Just  then  the  ship  in  which  she  was  sail- 
ing struck  a  rock,  and  the  sudden  jerk  woke 
up  Little  Silver,  who  cried  out,  "  Tapir> 
come  eat ;  tapir,  come  eat." 

No  tapir  came,  but  if  he  had  I  fear  Little 
Silver  would  have  been  more  frightened  than 
she  was  by  her  dream  of  the  ghosts  ;  for 
next   morning   she  laughed  to  think  how 


Lll^LE  SILVERS  DREAM  OF  THE  SHOJI.        111 

they  had  all  their  work  a-dipping  water 
for  nothing,  and  at  her  old  nurse  for  think- 
ing a  picture  of  a  tapir  could  keep  off 
dreams. 


THE  TENGtfS,  OR  THE  ELVES  WITH 
LONG  NOSES, 


(After  Hokusai.) 

URIOUS  CREATURES  are  the 
tengus,  with  the  head  of  a 
hawk  and  the  body  of  a  man 
They  have  very  hairy  hands  or 
paws  with  two  fingers,  and  feet 
with  two  toes.  They  are  hatched  out  of 
eggs,  and  have  wings  and  feathers,  until 
full  grown.  Then  their  wings  moult,  and 
the  stumps  are  concealed  behind  their  dress> 
which  is  like  that  of  a  man.  They  walk* 
when  grown  up,  on  clogs  a  foot  high,  which 
are  like  stilts,  as  they  have  but  one  support 
instead    of   two,  like  the  sort  which  men 


THE  TENGUS,  OR  THE  ELVES  WITH  LONG  NOSES.  113 

wear.     The  tengus  strut    about   easily   on 
these,  without  stumbling. 

The  Dai  Tengu,  or  master,  is  a  solemn- 
faced,  scowling  individual  with  a  very  proud 
expression,  and  a  nose  about  eight  finger- 
breadths  long.  When  he  goes  abroad,  his 
retainers  march  before  him,  for  fear  he  might 
break  his  nose  against  something.  He  wears 
a  long  grey  beard  down  to  his  girdle,  and 
moustaches  to  his  chin.  In  his  left  hand  he 
carries  a  large  fan  made  of  seven  wide 
feathers.  This  is  the  sign  of  his  rank.  He 
has  a  mouth,  but  he  rarely  opens  it.  He  is 
very  wise,  and  rules  over  all  the  tengus  in 
Japan. 

The  Karasu  or  crow-tengu  is  a  black  fel- 
low, with  a  long  beak,  in  the  place  where 
his  nose  and  mouth  ought  to  be.  He  looks 
as  if  some  one  had    squeezed  out  the  lower 

9 


114  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

part  of  his  face,  and  pulled  his  nose  down 
so  as  to  make  a  beak  like  a  crow's.  He  is 
the  Dai  Tengu's  lictor.  He  carries  the  axe 
of  authority  over  his  left  shoulder,  to  chop 
bad  people's  heads  off.  In  his  right  fist 
is  his  master's  book  of  wisdom,  and  roll  of 
authority.  Even  these  two  highest  in  au- 
thority in  Tengu-land  are  servants  of  the 
great  lord  Kampira,  the  long-haired  patron 
of  sailors  and  mountaineers. 

The  greatest  of  the  Dai  Tengu  lived  in 
Kurama  mountain  and  taught  Yoshitsune, 
This  lad,  while  a  pupil  in  the  monastery, 
would  slip  out  in  the  evening,  when  the 
priests  thought  him  asleep,  and  come  to  the 
King  of  the  Tengus,  who  instructed  him  in 
the  military  arts,  in  cunning,  magic,  and 
wisdom.  Every  night  the  boy  would 
spread  the  roll  of  wisdom  before  him,  and 
sit  at  the  feet  of  the  hoary-headed  tenguy 


THE  TENGUS,  OR  THE  ELVES  WITH  LONG  NOSES.  115 

and  learn  the  strange  letters  in  which  tengu 
wisdom  is  written,  while  the  long-nosed 
servant  tengus,  propped  up  on  their  stilt- 
clogs,  looked  on.  The  boy  was  not  afraid, 
but  quickly  learned  the  knowledge  which 
birds,  beasts  and  fishes  have,  how  to  under- 
stand their  language  and  to  fly,  swim  and 
leap  like  them. 

When  a  tengu  stumbles  and  falls  down  on 
his  nose,  it  takes  a  long  while  to  heal,  and  if 
he  breaks  it,  the  doctor  puts  it  in  splints 
like  a  broken  arm,  until  it  straightens  out 
and  heals  up  again. 

Some  of  the  amusements  in  Tengu-land 
are  very  curious.  A  pair  of  young  tengus 
will  fence  with  their  noses  as  if  they  were 
foils.  Their  faces  are  well  protected  by 
masks,  for  if  one  tengu  should  "  poke  his 
nose"  into  the  other's  eye  he  might  put  it 
out,  and  a  blind  tengu  could  not  walk  about, 


116  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

because  he  would  be  knocking  his  nose 
against  everything. 

Two  old  tengus  with  noses  nearly  two 
feet  long,  sometimes  try  the  strength  of 
their  face-handles.  One  fellow  has  his  beak 
straight  up  in  the  air  like  a  supporting  post, 
while  the  other  sits  a  yard  off  with  his  elas- 
tic nose  stretched  across  like  a  tight-rope, 
and  tied  with  twine  at  the  top  of  the  other 
one's  nose.  On  this  tight  nose-rope  a  little 
tengu  boy,  with  a  tiny  pug  only  two  inches 
long,  dances  a  jig.  He  holds  an  umbrella 
in  his  hand7  now  dancing,  and  now  standing 
upon  one  foot.  The  tengu-daddy,  whose 
nose  serves  as  a  tent-pole,  waves  his  fan 
and  sings  a  song,  keeping  time  to  the  dance. 

There  is  another  tengu  who  sometimes 
quarrels  with  his  wife,  and  when  angry 
boxes  her  ears  with  his  nose. 

A  lady-tengu  who  is  inclined  to  be  liter- 


THE  TENGUS,  OR  THE  ELVES  WITH  LONG  NOSES.   117 

ary  and  sentimental,  writes  poetry.  When 
the  mood  seizes  her  she  ties  the  pen  to  her 
nose,  dips  it  in  ink  and  writes  a  poem  on 
the  wall. 

A  tengu-painter  makes  a  long-handled 
brush  to  whitewash  the  ceiling,  by  strapping 
it  to  his  nose. 

Sometimes  the  little  tengus  get  fighting, 
and  then  the  feathers  fly  as  they  tear  each 
other  with  their  little  claws  which  have 
talons  on  them  shaped  like  a  chickens,  but 
which  when  fully  grown  look  like  hands. 

All  the  big  tengus  are  fond  of  trying  the 
strength  of  their  noses,  and  how  far  they 
can  bend  them  up  and  down  without  break- 
ing. They  have  two  favorite  games  of 
which  they  sometimes  give  exhibitions. 
The  player  has  long  strings  of  iron  cash 
(that  is,  one  hundred  of  the  little  iron  coins, 
with  a  square  hole  in  the   centre).     Several 


118  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

of  these  he  slides  on  a  rope  like  buttons  on 
a  string,  or  counters  on  a  wire.  Then  he 
lifts  them  off  with  the  tip  of  his  nose.  Some- 
times his  nose  bends  so  much  under  the 
weight  that  the  coins  slip  off*.  Whichever 
tengu  can  pick  off  the  greater  number  of 
strings  without  letting  any  slip,  wins  the 
game,  and  is  called  O-hana  (The  King  of 
Noses). 

Another  balances  hoops  and  poles  on  his 
nose  and  throws  balls  through  the  hoops ; 
or  he  poises  a  saucer  of  water  on  the  tip  of 
his  nose  without  spilling  a  drop.  Another 
fellow  hangs  a  bell  from  the  ceiling.  Then, 
with  a  handkerchief  tied  loosely  round  his 
head,  he  pulls  his  nose  back  like  a  snap- 
ping-turtle's  beak,  and  then  suddenly  lets 
go.  His  nose  then  strikes  the  bell  and  rings 
it.  It  hurts  very  much,  but  he  does  not 
mind  it. 


THE  TENGUS,  OR  THE  ELVES  WITH  LONG  NOSES.  119 

The  tengus  have  one  great  fault.  They 
love  liquor  too  mnch.  They  often  get 
drunk.  They  buy  great  casks  of  rice-wine, 
sling  them  round  their  necks,  and  drink  out 
of  long  cups  shaped  like  their  faces,  using 
the  nose  for  a  handle.  A  drunken  tengu 
makes  a  funny  sight,  as  he  staggers  about 
with  his  big  wings  drooping  and  flapping 
around  him,  and  the  feathers  trailing  in  the 
mud,  and  his  long  nose  limp,  pendulous  and 
groggy. 

When  the  master  of  the  tengus  wishes  to 
"  see  the  flowers,"  which  means  to  go  on  a 
picnic,  he  punishes  his  drunken  servant  by 
swinging  the  box  of  eatables  over  the  fel- 
low's red  nose.  Putting  the  end  over  his 
shoulders,  he  compels  the  sot  to  come  along. 
It  sobers  the  fellow,  for  the  weight  on  his 
nose  and  the  pulling  on  it  hurts  dreadfully, 
and  often  makes  him  squeal. 


120  JAPANESE    FAIRY      WORLD. 

Oyama,  a  mountain  near  Tokio,  is  said  to 
be  full  of  these  long-nosed  elves,  but  many 
other  mountains  are  inhabited  by  them,  for 
they  like  lonely  places  away  from  men. 

Dancers  often  put  on  masks  like  the  ten- 

gu's  face  and  dance  a  curious  dance  which 
they  call  the  Tengu's  quadrille. 

The  tengus  are  very  proud  fellows,  and 
think  themselves  above  human  beings. 
They  are  afraid  of  brave  men,  however,  and 
never  dare  to  hurt  them.  They  scare  chil- 
dren, especially  bad  boys.  They  watch  a 
boy  telling  lies  and  catch  him.  Then  the 
tengus  pull  out  his  tongue  by  the  roots,  and 
run  away  with  it. 

When  a  tengu  walks,  he  folds  his  arms, 
throws  back  his  head  till  his  nose  is  far  up 
in  the  air,  and  struts  around  as  if  he  were  a 
daimio.  When  a  man  becomes  vain  and 
carries  his  nose  too  high,  the  people  say  "He 
has  become  a  tengu." 


KINTARO,  OR  THE  WILD  BABY. 


)ONG,  LONG  AGO,  when  the  tall- 
est fir  trees  on  the  Hakone 
mountains  were  no  higher  than 
a  rice-stalk,  there  lived  in  that 
part  of  the  range  called  Ashi- 
gara,  a  little  ruddy  boy,  whom  his  mother 
had  named  Kintaro,  or  Golden  Darling.  He 
was  not  like  other  boys,  for  having  no  chil- 
dren to  play  with,  he  made  companions  of 
the  wild  animals  of  the  forest. 

He  romped  with  the  little  bears,  and  often 
when  the  old  she  bear  would  come  for  her 
cubs  to  give  them  their  supper  and  put  them 
to  bed,  Kintaro  would  jump  on  her  back 
and  have  a  ride  to  her  cave.     He  also  put 


122  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

his  arms  around  the  neck  of  the  deer,  which 
were  not  afraid  of  him.  He  was  prince  of 
the  forest,  and  the  rabbits,  wild  boars,  squir- 
rels and  martens,  pheasants  and  hawks  were 
his  servants  and  messengers. 

Although  not  much  more  than  a  fat  baby, 
Kintaro  wielded  a  big  axe,  and  could  chop 
a  ^nake  to  pieces  before  he  had  time  to 
wriggle. 

Kintaro's  father  had  been  a  brave  soldier 
in  Kioto,  who  through  the  malice  of  ene- 
mies at  court,  had  fallen  into  disgrace.  He 
had  loved  a  beautiful  lady  whom  he  married. 
When  her  husband  died  she  fled  eastward 
to  the  Ashigara  mountains,  and  there  in 
the  lonely  forests  in  which  no  human  be- 
ing except  poor  woodcutters  ever  came,  her 
boy  was  born. 

She  lived  in  a  cave,  nourishing  herself  on 
roots    and    herbs.     The    woodcutters    soon 


KINTARO,  OR  THE  WILD  BABY.     123 

learned  about  the  strange  pair  living  wild 
but  peacefully  in  the  woods,  though  they 
did  not  dream  of  her  noble  rank.  The 
boy  was  known  among  them  as  "Little 
Wonder,"  and  the  woman  as  "  The  old  nurse 
of  the  mountain." 

Thus,  all  alone,  the  little  fellow  grew  up, 
exercising  himself  daily,  so  that  even  though 
a  child  he  could  easily  wrestle  with  a  bear. 
Among  his  retainers  were  the  tengus,  though 
they  were  often  rebellious  and  disobedient, 
not  liking  to  be  governed  by  a  boy. 

One  day,  an  old  mother-tengu,  who  had 
always  laughed  at  the  idea  of  obeying  a  lit- 
tle dumpling  of  a  fellow  like  Kintaro,  flew 
up  to  her  nest  in  a  high  fir  tree.  Kintaro 
watched  to  see  where  it  was,  and  waited  till 
she  left  it  to  go  and  seek  for  food.  Then 
going  up  to  the  tree,  he  shook  it  with  all  his 
might,  until  the  nest  came  tumbling  down, 


124  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

and  the  two  young  squabs  of tengus  with  it. 

Now  it  happened  that  just  at  that  time 
the  great  hero  and  imp-killer,  Raiko, 
was  marching  through  the  mountains  on 
his  way  to  Kioto.  Seeing  that  the  ruddy 
little  fellow  was  no  ordinary  child,  he  found 
out  the  mother  and  heard  her  story.  He 
then  asked  for  the  child  and  adopted  him  as 
his  own. 

So  Kintaro  went  off  with  Raiko  and  grew 
up  to  be  a  brave  soldier,  and  taking  his 
father's  name,  he  was  known  as  Sakata 
Kintoki.  His  mother,  however,  remained 
in  the  mountains,  and  living  to  an  extreme 
old  age,  was  always  known  as  "The  old  nurse 
of  the  mountains. 

To  this  day,  Kintaro  is  the  hero  of 
Japanese  boys,  and  on  their  huge  kites  will 
usually  be  seen  a  picture  of  the  little  black- 


KtNTARO,    OH   THE   WILD   BABY.  125 

eyed  ruddy  boy  of  the  mountains,  with  his 
axe,  while  around  him  are  his  wild  play- 
mates, and  the  young  tengus  rubbing  their 
long  noses,  which  were  so  nearly  broken  by 
their  fall. 


JIRAIYA,  OR  THE  MAGIC  PROG. 


GATA  was  the  name  of  a  castle- 
lord  who  lived  in  the  Island  of 
the  Nine  Provinces,  (Kiushiu)* 
He  had  but  one  son,  an  infant, 
whom  the  people  in  admiration 
nicknamed  Jiraiya  (Young  Thunder.)  Dur- 
ing one  of  the  civil  wars,  this  castle  was 
taken,  and  Ogata  was  slain ;  but  by  the  aid 
of  a  faithful  retainer,  who  hid  Jiraiya  in  his 
bosom,  the  boy  escaped  and  fled  northward 
to  Echigo.  There  he  lived  until  he  grew  up 
to  manhood. 

At  that  time  Echigo  was  infested  with 
robbers.  One  day  the  faithful  retainer  of 
Jiraiya  being  attacked,  made  resistance,  and 


JtRAIYA,    OH    THE    MAGIC    FtiOd.  12? 

Was  slain  by  the  robbers.  Jiraiya  now  left 
alone  in  the  world  went  out  from  Echigo 
and  led  a  wandering  life  in  several  prov- 
inces. 

All  this  time  he  was  consumed  with  the 

desire  to  revive  the  name  of  his  father,  and 
restore  the  fortunes  of  his  family.  Being 
exceedingly  brave,  and  an  expert  swords* 
man,  he  became  chief  of  a  band  of  robbers 
and  plundered  many  wealthy  merchants, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  was  rich  in  men? 
arms  and  booty.  He  was  accustomed  to 
disguise  himself,  and  go  in  person  into  the 
houses  and  presence  of  men  of  wealth,  and 
thus  learn  all  about  their  gates  and  guards, 
where  they  slept,  and  in  what  rooms  their 
treasures  were  stored,  so  that  success  was 
easy. 

Hearing   of  an    old    man    who  lived   in 
Shinano,  he  started  to  rob  him,  and  for  this 


128  JAPANESE   FAIRY   WORLD. 

purpose  put  on  the  disguise  of  a  pilgrim. 
Shinano  is  a  very  high  table-land,  full  of 
mountains,  and  the  snow  lies  deep  in  win- 
ter. A  great  snow  storm  coming  on,  Jiraiya 
took  refuge  in  a  humble  house  by  the  way. 
Entering,  he  found  a  very  beautiful  woman, 
who  treated  him  with  great  kindness.  This, 
however,  did  not  change  the  robber's  nature. 
At  midnight,  when  all  was  still,  he  unsheath- 
ed his  sword,  and  going  noiselessly  to  her 
room,  he  found  the  lady  absorbed  in  read- 
ing. 

Lifting  his  sword,  he  was  about  to  strike 
at  her  neck,  when,  in  a  flash,  her  body 
changed  into  that  of  a  very  old  man,  who 
seized  the  heavy  steel  blade  and  broke  it  in 
pieces  as  though  it  were  a  stick.  Then  he 
tossed  the  bits  of  steel  away,  and  thus  spoke 
to  Jiraiya,  who  stood  amazed  but  fearless : 

"X  am  a  man  named  Senso  Dojin,  and  I 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE    MAGIC    FROG.  129 

have  lived  in  these  mountains  many  hun- 
dred years,  though  my  true  body  is  that  of 
a  huge  frog.  I  can  easily  put  you  to  death 
but  I  have  another  purpose.  So  I  shall 
pardon  you  and  teach  you  magic  instead.'' 

Then  the  youth  bowed  his  head  to  the 
floor,  poured  out  his  thanks  to  the  old  man 
and  begged  to  be  received  as  his  pupil. 

Remaining  with  the  old  man  of  the  moun- 
tain for  several  weeks,  Jiraiya  learned  all 
the  arts  of  the  mountain  spirits;  how  to 
cause  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  to  make  a 
deluge,  and  to  control  the  elements  at  will. 

He  also  learned  how  to  govern  the  frogs, 
and  at  his  bidding  they  assumed  gigantic 
size,  so  that  on  their  backs  he  could  stand 
up  and  cross  rivers  and  carry  enormous 
loads. 

When  th^  old  man  had  finished   instruct- 

10 


130  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

ing  him  he  said  "  Henceforth  cease  from 
robbing,  or  in  any  way  injuring  the  poor. 
Take  from  the  wicked  rich,  and  those  who 
acquire  money  dishonestly,  but  help  the 
needy  and  the  suffering,"  Thus  speaking? 
the  old  man  turned  into  a  huge  frog  and 
hopped  away. 

What  this  old  mountain  spirit  bade  him 
do,  was  just  what  Jiraiya  wished  to  accom- 
plish. He  set  out  on  his  journey  with  a 
light  heart.  "lean  now  make  the  storm  and 
the  waters  obey  me,  and  all  the  frogs  are  at 
my  command;  but  alas!  the  magic  of  the 
frog  cannot  control  that  of  the  serpent.  I 
shall  beware  of  his  poison." 

From  that  time  forth  the  oppressed  poor 
people  rejoiced  many  a  time  as  the  avari- 
cious merchants  and  extortionate  money 
lenders  lost  their  treasures.  For  when 
a    poor    farmer,  who^e    crops    foiled,  could 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE   MAGIC    FROG.  131 

not  pay  his  rent  or  loan  on  the  date 
promised,  these  hard-hearted  money  lenders 
would  turn  him  out  of  his  house,  seize  his 
beds  and  mats  and  rice-tub,  and  even  the 
shrine  and  images  on  the  god-shelf,  to  sell 
them  at  auction  for  a  trifle,  to  their  minions, 
who  resold  them  at  a  high  price  for  the 
money-lender,  who  thus  got  a  double  benefit. 
Whenever  a  miser  was  robbed,  the  people 
said,  "  The  young  thunder  has  struck/'  and 
then  they  were  glad,  knowing  that  it  was 
Jiraiya,  (Young  Thunder.)  In  this  manner 
his  name  soon  grew  to  be  the  poor  people's 
watchword  in  those  troublous  times. 

Yet  Jiraiya  was  always  ready  to  help  the 
innocent  and  honest,  even  if  they  were  rich. 
One  day  a  merchant  named  Fukutaro  was 
sentenced  to  death,  though  he  was  really 
not  guilty.  Jiraiya  hearing  of  it,  went  to 
the  magistrate  and  said  that  he  himself  was 


132  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WOKLD, 

the  very  man  who  committed  the  robbery, 
So  the  mans  life  was  saved,  and  Jiraiya  was 
hanged  on  a  large  oak  tree.  But  daring 
the  night,  his  dead  body  changed  into  a  bull- 
frog which  hopped  away  out  of  sight,  and 
off  into  the  mountains  of  Shinano. 

At  this  time,  there  was  living  in  this 
province,  a  young  and  beautiful  maiden 
named  Tsunade.  Her  character  was  very 
lovely.  She  was  always  obedient  to  her 
parents  and  kind  to  her  friends.  Her  daily 
task  was  to  go  to  the  mountains  and  cut 
brush -wood  for  fuel.  One  day  while  thus 
busy  singing  at  the  task,  she  met  a  very  old 
man,  with  a  long  white  beard  sweeping  hm 
breast,  who  said  to  her  : 

"  Do  not  fear  me.  I  have  lived  in  this 
mountain  many  hundred  years,  but  my  real 
body  is  that  of  a  snail.  I  will  teach  you 
the  powers  of  magic?  so  that  you  can  walk 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE    MAGIC    FROG.  133 

on  the  sea,  or  cross  a  river  however  swift 
and  deep,  as  though  it  were  dry  land/' 

Gladly  the  maiden  took  daily  lessons  of 
the  old  man,  and  soon  was  able  to  walk  on 
the  waters  as  on  the  mountain  paths.  One 
day  the  old  man  said,  "  I  shall  now  leave 
you  and  resume  my  former  shape.  Use  your 
power  to  destroy  wicked  robbers.  Help 
those  who  defend  the  poor.  I  advise  you 
to  marry  the  celebrated  man  Jiraiya,  and 
thus  you  will  unite  your  powers." 

Thus  saying,  the  old  man  shrivelled  up 
into  a  snail  and  crawled  away. 

"  I  am  glad,"  said  the  maiden  to  herself, 
"  for  the  magic  of  the  snail  can  overcome 
that  of  the  serpent.  When  Jiraiya,  who  has 
the  magic  of  the  frog,  shall  marry  me,  we 
can  then  destroy  the  son  of  the  serpent,  the 
robber  named  Dragon-coil  (Orochimaru). 

By  good  fortune,  Jiraiya  met  the  maiden 


134  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

Tsunade,  and  being  charmed  with  her 
beauty,  and  knowing  her  power  of  magic, 
sent  a  messenger  with  presents  to  her  par- 
ents, asking  them  to  give  him  their  daugh- 
ter to  wife.  The  parents  agreed,  and  so 
the  young  and  loving  couple  were  married. 
Hitherto  when  Jiraiya  wished  to  cross  a 
river  he  changed  himself  into  a  frog  and 
swam  across ;  or,  he  summoned  a  bull-frog 
before  him,  which  increased  in  size  until  as 
large  as  an  elephant.  Then  standing  erect 
on  his  warty  back,  even  though  the  wind 
blew  his  garments  waldly,  Jiraiya  reached 
the  opposite  shore  in  safety.  But  now,  with 
his  wife's  powers,  the  two,  without  any 
delay,  walked  over  as  though    the  surface 

was  a  hard  floor. 

Soon  after  their  marriage,  war  broke  out 
in  Japan  between  the  two  famous  clans  of 
Tsukikage    and  Inukage.      To   help    them 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE    MAGIC    FROG.  135 

fight  their  battles,  and  capture  the  castles  of 
their  enemies,  the  Tsukikago  family  besought 
the  aid  of  Jiraij^a,  who  agreed  to  serve  them 
and  carried  their  banner  in  his  back.  Their 
enemies,  the  Inukage,  then  secured  the 
services  of  Dragon-coil. 

This  Orochimaru,  or  Dragon-coil,  was  a 
very  wicked  robber  whose  father  was  a  man? 
and  whose  mother  was  a  serpent  that  lived 
in  the  bottom  of  Lake  Takura.  He  was 
perfectly  skilled  in  the  magic  of  the  serpent, 
and  by  spurting  venom  on  his  enemies, 
could  destroy  the  strongest  warriors. 

Collecting  thousands  of  followers,  he  made 
great  ravages  in  all  parts  of  Japan,  robbing 
and  murdering  good  and  bad,  rich  and  poor 
alike.  Loving  war  and  destruction  he  joined 
his  forces  with  the  Inukage  family. 

Now  that  the  magic  of  the  frog  and  snail 
was  joined  to  the  one  arnry,  and  the  magic 


136  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

of  the  serpent  aided  the  other,  the  conflicts 
were  bloody  and  terrible,  and  many  men 
were  slain  on  both  sides. 

On  one  occasion,  after  a  hard  faught  bat- 
tle, Jiraiya  fled  and  took  refuge  in  a  monas- 
tery, with  a  few  trusty  vassals,  to  rest  a  short 
time.  Tn  this  retreat  a  lovely  princess 
named  Tagoto  was  dwelling.  She  had  fled 
from  Orochimaru,  who  wished  her  for  his 
bride.  She  hated  to  marry  the  offspring  of 
a  serpent,  and  hoped  to  escape  him.  She 
lived  in  fear  of  him  continually.  Orochi- 
maru hearing  at  one  time  that  both  Jiraiya 
and  the  princess  were  at  this  place,  changed 
himself  into  a  serpent,  and  distilling  a  large 
mouthful  of  poisonous  venom,  crawled  up  to 
the  ceiling  in  the  room  where  Jiraiya  and 
his  wife  were  sleeping,  and  reaching  a  spot 
directly  over  them,  poured  the  poisonous 
venom  on  the  heads  of  his  rivals.     The  fumes 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE    MAGIC    FROG.  137 

of  the  prison  so  stupefied  Jiraiya's  followers, 
and  even  the  monks,  that  Orochimaru,  in- 
stantly changing  himself  to  a  man,  profited 
by  the  opportunity  to  seize  the  princess 
Tagoto,  and  make  off  with  her. 

Gradually  the  faithful  retainers  awoke 
from  their  stupor  to  find  their  master  and 
his  beloved  wife  delirious,  and  near  the 
point  of  death,  and  the  princess  gone. 

"What  can  we  do  to  restore  our  dear 
master  to  life  ?"  This  was  the  question  each 
one  asked  of  the  others,  as  with  sorrowful 
faces  and  weeping  eyes  they  gazed  at  the 
pallid  forms  of  their  unconscious  master  and 
his  consort.  They  called  in  the  venerable 
abbot  of  the  monastery  to  see  if  he  .could 
suggest  what  could  be  done. 

"'  Alas !"  said  the  aged  priest,  there  is  no 
medicine  in  Japan  to  cure  your  lord's  dis- 
ease, but  in  India  there  is  an  elixir  which 


138  JAPANESE  FAIRY   WORLD. 

is  a  sure  antidote.  If  we  could  get  that,  the 
master  would  recover." 

"Alas!  alas!"  and  a  chorus,  of  groans 
showed  that  all  hope  had  fled,  for  the  moun- 
tain in  India,  where  the  elixir  was  made, 
lay  five  thousand  miles  from  Japan. 

Just  then  a  youth  named  Rikimatsu,  one 
of  the  pages  of  Jiraiya,  arose  to  speak.  He 
was  but  fourteen  years  old,  and  served 
Jiraiya  out  of  gratitude,  for  he  had  rescued 
his  father  from  many  dangers  and  saved  his 
life.  He  begged  permission  to  say  a  word 
to  the  abbot,  who,  seeing  the  lad's  eager 
face,  motioned  to  him  with  his  fan  to  speak. 

"  How  long  can  our  lord  live,"  asked  the 
youth. 

"  He  will  be  dead  in  thirty  hours,"  an- 
swered the  abbot,  with  a  sigh. 

"  I'll  go  and  procure  the  medicine,  and  if 


JIRAIYA,    OR    THE    MAGIC    FROG.  139 

our  master  is  still  living  when  I  come  hack, 
he  will  get  well." 

Now  Rikimatsu  had  learned  magic  and 
sorcery  from  the  Tengus,  or  long-nosed 
elves  of  the  mountains,  and  could  fly  high 
in  the  air  with  incredible  swiftness.  Speak- 
ing a  few  words  of  incantation,  he  put  on 
the  wings  of  a  Tengu,  mounted  a  white 
cloud  and  rode  on  the  east  wind  to  India, 
bought  the  elixir  of  the  mountain  spirits, 
and  returned  to  Japan  in  one  day  and  a 
night. 

On  the  first  touch  of  the  elixir  on  the 
sick  man's  face  he  drew  a  deep  breath, 
perspiration  glistened  on  his  forehead,  and 
in  a  few  moments  more  he  sat  up. 

Jiraiya  and  his  wife  both  got  well,  and 
the  war  broke  out  again.  In  a  great  battle 
Dragon-coil  was  killed  and  the  princess 
rescued.  For  his  prowess  and  aid  Jiraiya 
was  made  daimio  of  Idzu. 


140  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

Being  now  weary  of  war  and  the  hard- 
ships of  active  life,  Jiraiya  was  glad  to  settle 
down  to  tranquil  life  in  the  castle  and  rear 
his  family  in  peace.  He  spent  the  remain- 
der of  his  days  in  reading  the  books  of  the 
sages,  in  composing  verses,  in  admiring  the 
flowers,  the  moon  and  the  landscape,  and 
occasionally  going  out  hawking  or  fishing. 
There,  amid  his  children  and  children's 
children,  he  finished  his  days  in  peace. 


HOW    THE    JELLY-FISH    LOST   ITS 
SHELL. 


ARTS  of  the  seas  of  the  Japanese 
Archipelago  are  speckled  with 
thousands  of  round  white  jelly-* 
fish,  that  swim  a  few  teet  beloW 
the  surface.  One  can  see  the 
great  steamer  go  ploughing  through  them  as 
through  a  field  of  frosted  cakes.  The  huge 
paddle-wheels  make  a  perfect  pudding  of 
thousands  of  them,  as  they  are  dashed 
against  the  paddle-box  and  whipped  into  a 
froth  like  white  of  eggs  or  churned  into  a 
thick  cream  by  the  propeller  blades.  Some- 
times the  shoals  are  of  great  breadth,  and 
then  it  veritably  looks  as  though  a  crockery 


142  Japanese  paiot  would. 

shop  had  been  upset  in  the  ocean,  and  ten 
thousand  white  dinner-plates  had  broken 
loose,  Around  the  bays  and  harbors  the 
Japanese  boys  at  play  drive  them  with  pad- 
dles into  shoals,  and  sometimes  they  poke 
sticks  through  them.  This  they  can  do 
easily,  because  the  jelly-fish  has  no  jacket 
of  shell  or  bone  like  the  lobster,  nor  any 
skin  like  a  fish,  and  so  always  has  to  swim 
naked,  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  danger.  Some- 
times great  jelly-fishes,  two  or  three  feet  in 
diameter,  sail  gaily  along  near  the  shore,  as 
proud  as  the  long-handled-umbrella  of  a 
daimio,  and  as  brilliantly  colored  as  a  Jap- 
anese parasol.  Floating  all  around  their 
bodies,  like  the  streamers  of  a  temple  fes- 
tival, or  a  court  lady's  ribbons,  are  their  long 
tentacles  or  feelers.  No  peacock  stretching 
his  bannered  tail  could  make  a  finer  sight, 
or  look  prouder  than  these  floating  sun- 
fishes,  or  bladders  of  living  jelly. 


80W  THJl  JELLY-FIStf  LOST  ITS  SHELL.  148 

But  alas  for  all  things  made  of  water ! 
Let  but  a  wave  of  unusual  force,  or  a  sudden 
gust  of  wind  come,  and  this  lump  of  pride 
lies  collapsed  and  stranded  on  the  shore, 
like  a  pancake  upset  into  a  turnover,  in 
which  batter  and  crust  are  hopelessly  mixed 
together.  When  found  fresh,  men  often 
come  down  to  the  shore  and  cutting  huge 
slices  of  blubber,  as  transparent  as  ice,  they 
eat  the  solid  water  with  their  rice>  in  lieu  of 
drink. 

A  jelly-fish  as  big  as  an  umbrella,  and 
weighing  as  much  as  a  big  boy,  will,  after 
lying  a  few  hours  in  the  sun  leave  scarcely 
a  trace  on  the  spot  for  their  bodies  are  lit- 
tle more  than  animated  masses  of  water. 
At  night,  however  where  a  jelly-fish  has 
stranded,  the  ground  seems  to  crawl  and 
emit  a  dull  fire  of  phosphorescence  which 
the  Japanese  call  "  dragon's  light." 


144  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

But  the  jelly-fish  once  had  a  shell,  and 
was  not  so  defenceless,  say  the  fairy  tales* 
How  it  lost  it  is  thus  told, 

In  the  days  of  old,  the  jelly-fish  was  one 
of  the  retainers  in  waiting  upon  the  Queen 
of  the  World  under  the  Sea,  at  her  palace 
in  Riu  Gu.  In  those  days  he  had  a  shell, 
and  as  his  head  was  hard,  no  one  dared  to 
insult  him,  or  stick  him  with  their  horns, 
or  pinch  him  with  their  claws,  or  scratch 
him  with  their  nails,  or  brush  rudely  by 
him  with  their  fins.  In  short,  this  fish  in- 
stead of  being  a  lump  of  jelly,  as  white  and 
helpless  as  a  pudding,  as  we  see  him  now, 
was  a  lordly  fellow  that  could  get  his  back 
up  and  keep  it  high  when  he  wished  to.  He 
waited  on  the  queen  and  right  proud  was  he 
of  his  office.  He  was  on  good  terms  with 
the  King's  dragon,  which  often  allowed  him 


HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST  ITS  SHELL.         145 

to  play  with  his   scaly  tail    but  never  hurt 
himjn  the  least. 

One  day  the  Queen  fell  sick,  and  every 
hour  grew  worse.  The  King  became  anx- 
ious, and  her  subjects  talked  about  nothing 
else  hut  her  sickness.  There  was  grief  all 
tli rough  the  water- world ;  from  the  mer- 
maids on  their  beds  of  sponge,  and  the 
dragons  in  the  rocky  caverns,  down  to  the 
tiny  gudgeons  in  the  rivers,  that  were  con- 
sidered no  more  than  mere  bait.'  The  jolly 
cuttle-fish  stopped  playing  his  drums  and 
guitar,  folded  his  six  arms  and  hid  away 
moping  in  his  hole.  His  servant  the  lobster 
in  vain  lighted  his  candle  at  night,  and  tried 
to  induce  him  to  come  out  of  his  lair.  The 
dolphins  and  porpoises  wept  tears,  but  the 
clams,  oysters  and  limpets  shut  up  their 
shells  and  did  not  even  wiggle     The  floun- 

1 1 


146  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WOULD* 

ders  and  skates  lay  flat  on  the  ocean's  floors 
never  even  lifting  up  their  noses.  The 
squid  wept  a  great  deal  of  ink,  and  the  jelly- 
fish nearly  melted  to  pure  water.  The  tor- 
toise was  patient  and  offered  to  do  anything 
for  the  relief  of  the  Queen. 

But  nothing  could  be  done.  The  cuttle- 
fish who  professed  to  be  "a  kind  of  a"  doctor, 
offered  the  use  of  all  his  cups  to  suck  out 
the  poison,  if  that  were  the  trouble. 

But  it  wasn't.  It  was  internal,  and  noth- 
ing but  medicine  that  could  be  swallowed 
would  reach  the  disease. 

At  last  some  one  suggested  that  the  liver 
of  a  monkey  would  be  a  specific  for  the 
royal  sickness,  and  it  was  resolved  to  try  it. 
The  tortoise,  who  was  the  Queen's  messenger,, 
because  he  could  live  on  both  land  and  water,, 
swim  or  crawl,  was  summoned.  He  was 
told  to  go  upon  earth  to  a  certain  mountain,, 


HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST   ITS  SHELL.         147 

catch  a  monkey  and  bring  him  alive  to  the 
Under-world. 

Off  started  the  tortoise  on  his  journey  to 
the  earth,  and  going  to  a  mountain  where 
the  monkeys  lived,  squatted  down  at  the 
foot  of  a  tree  and  pretended  to  be  asleep 
though  keeping  his  claws  and  tail  out. 
There  he  waited  patiently,  well  knowing 
that  curiosity  and  the  monkey's  love  of 
tricks  would  bring  one  within  reach  of  his 
talons.  Pretty  soon,  a  family  of  chattering 
monkeys  came  running  along  among  the 
branches  overhead,  when  suddenly  a  young 
saru  (monkey)  caught  sight  of  the  sleeping 
tortoise. 

•' Nam  hodo"  (Ts  it  possible?)  said  the 
long-handed  fellow,  "here's  fun;  let's  tickle 
the  old  fellow's  back  and  pull  his  tail." 

All  agreed,  and  forthwith  a  dozen  mon- 
keys, joining  hand  over  hand,  made  a  long 


148  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

ladder  of  themselves  until  they  just  reached 
the  tortoise's  back.  (They  didn't  use  their 
tails,  for  Japanese  monkeys  have  none,  ex- 
cept stumps  two  inches  long).  However,  he 
who  was  to  be  the  tail  end  of  this  living 
rope,  when  all  was  ready,  crawled  along  and 
slipped  over  the  whole  line,  whispering  as 
he  slid  : 

"  '  Sh  !  don't  chatter  or  laughy  you'll  wake 
the  old  fellow  up/' 

Now  the  monkey  expected  to  hold  on  the 
living  pendulum  by  one  long  hand,  and 
swinging  down  with  the  other,  to  pull  the 
tortoise's  tail,  and  see  how  near  he  could 
come  to  his  snout  without  being  snapped 
up.  For  a  monkey  well  knew  that  a  tor- 
toise could  neither  jump  off  its  legs  nor 
climb  a  tree. 

Once  !  Twice !  The  monkey  pendulum 
swung  back  and  forth  without  touching. 


HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST   ITS  SHELL.         149 

Three !  Four !  The  monkey's  finger- 
nails scratched  the  tortoise's  back.  Yet  old 
Hard  Shell  pretended  to  be  sound  asleep. 

Five  !  Six !  The  monkey  caught  hold 
of  the  tortoise's  tail  and  jerked  it  hard.  Old 
Tortoise  now  moved  out  its  head  a  little,  as 
if  still  only  half  awake. 

Seven  !  Eight !  This  time  the  monkey 
intended  to  pull  the  tortoise's  head,  when 
just  as  he  came  within  reach,  the  tortoise 
snapped  him,  held  him  in  his  claws,  and  as 
the  monkey  pendulum  swung  back  he  lost 
his  hold.  In  an  instant  he  was  jerked  loose, 
and  fell  head-foremost  to  the  ground,  half 
stunned 

Frightened  at  the  loss  of  their  end  link, 
the  other  monkeys  of  the  chain  wound  them- 
selves up  like  a  windlass  over  the  branches, 
and  squatting  on  the  trees,  set  up  a  doleful 
chattering. 


150  JAPANESE  FAIRY     WORLD. 

"  Now,"  says  the  tortoise,  "  I  want  you 
to  go  with  me.  If  you  don't,  I'll  eat  you  up. 
Get  on  my  back  and  I'll  carry  you  ;  but  I 
must  hold  your  paw  in  my  mouth  so  you 
won't  run  away." 

Half  frightened  to  death,  the  monkey 
obeyed,  and  the  tortoise  trotted  off  to  the 
sea,  swam  to  the  spot  over  the  Queen's 
palace,  and  in  a  fillip  of  the  finger  was  down 
in  the  gardens  of  Riu  Gu. 

Here,  let  me  say,  that  according  to 
another  version  of  this  story  the  monkeys 
assembled  in  force  when  they  suspected 
what  the  tortoise  had  come  after,  and  catch- 
ing him  napping  turned  him  over  on  his 
back  so  that  he  could  not  move  or  bite. 
Then  they  took  his  under  shell  off,  so  that 
he  had  to  travel  back  to  Riu  Gu  and  get 
another  one.  This  last  version  however  is 
uncertain  and  it  looks  like  a  piece  of  inven- 

\ 


THE  MONKEYS  IN  GRIEF. 


/V       OP  THB        >^ 

TIVEESITY) 


■ZIFOW 


HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST   ITS  SHELL.         151 

tion  to  suppose  that  the  monkeys  had  a 
sufficient  medical  knowledge  to  make  them 
suspicious  of  the  design  of  the  tortoise  on 
the  monkey's  liver.  T  prefer  the  regular 
account. 

The  Queen  hearing  of  the  monkey's  ar- 
rival thanked  the  tortoise,  and  commanded 
her  cook  and  baker  to  feed  him  well  and 
treat  him  kindly,  for  the  queen  felt  really 
sorry  because  he  was  to  lose  his  liver. 

As  for  the  monkey, he  enjoyed  himself 
very  much,  and  ran  around  everywhere 
amusing  the  star-fishes,  clams,  oysters  and 
other  pulpy  creatures  that  could  not  run, 
by  his  rapid  climbing  of  the  rocks  and  coral 
bushes,  and  by  rolling  over  the  sponge  beds 
and  cutting  all  manner  of  antics. 

They  had  never  before  seen  anything  like 
it.  Poor  fellow !  he  didn't  suspect  what 
was  to  come. 


152  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

All  this  time  however  the  jelly-fish  pitied 
him  in  his  heart,  and  could  hardly  keep 
what  he  1.  new  to  himself.  Seeing  that  the 
monkey,  lonely  and  homesick  was  standing 
by  the  shore  of  a  pond,  the  jelly-fish  squeezed 
himself  up  near  him  and  said  : 

"Excuse  my  addressing  you,  I  feel  very 
sorry  for  you  because  you  are  to  be  put  to 
death." 

"Why?"  said  the  monkey  "What  have 
I  done  ?" 

"Oh,  nothing,"  said  the  jelly-fish,  "only 
our  queen  is  sick  and  she  wants  your  liver 
for  medicine." 

Then  if  ever  any  one  saw  a  sick  looking 
monkey  it  was  this  one.  As  the  Japanese 
say  "his  liver  was  smashed."  He  felt  dread- 
fully afraid.  He  pat  his  hands  over  his 
eyes,  and  immediately  began  to  plan  how  to 
save  both  his  liver  and  his  life. 


■     HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST  ITS  SHELL.         153 

After  a  while  the  rain  began  to  fall 
heavily,  and  the  monkey  ran  in  out  of 
the  garden,  and  standing  in  the  hall  of  the 
Queen's  palace  began  to  weep  bitterly.  Just 
then  the  tortoise,  passing  by,  saw  his  cap- 
tive. 

"  What  are  you  crying  about  ?" 

"  Aita !  aita  !"  cried  the  monkey,  "  When 
I  left  my  home  on  the  earth,  I  forgot  to 
bring  my  liver  with  me,  but  hung  it  upon  a 
tree,  and  now  it  is  raining  and  my  liver  will 
decay  and  I'll  die.  Aita !  aita !"  and  the 
poor  monkey's  eye#  became  red  as  a  tai  fish, 
and  streamed  with  tears. 

When  the  tortoise  told  the  Queen's  Gour- 
tiers  what  the  monkey  had  said,  their  faces 
fell. 

"  Why,  here's  a  pretty  piece  of  business. 
The  monkey  is  of  no  use  without  his  liver. 
We  must  send  him  after  it." 


154  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

So  they  dispatched  the  tortoise  to  the 
earth  again,  the  monkey  sitting  a-straddle 
of  his  back.  They  came  to  the  mountain 
again,  and  the  tortoise  being  a  little  lazy, 
waited  at  the  foot  while  the  monkey  scam- 
pered off,  saying  he  would  be  back  in  an 
hour.  The  two  creatures  had  become  so 
well  acquainted  that  the  old  Hard  Shell  fully 
trusted  the  lively  little  fellow. 

But  instead  of  an  hour  the  tortoise 
waited  till  evening.  No  monkey  came.  So 
finding  himself  fooled,  and  knowing  all  the 
monkeys  would  take  the  alarm,  he  waddled 
back  and  told  the  Queen  all  about  it. 

"  Then,"  said  the  Queen  after  reprimand- 
ing her  messenger  for  his  silly  confidence, 
"  the  monkey  must  have  got  wind  of  our  in- 
tention to  use  his  liver,  and  what  is  more, 
some  one  of  my  retainers  or  servants  must 
have  told  him." 


HOW  THE  JELLY-FISH  LOST  ITS  SHELL.         155 

Then  the  Queen  issued  an  order  com- 
manding all  her  subjects  to  appear  before 
the  Dragon-King  of  the  Sea.  Whoever  did 
this  wicked  thing,  Kai  Riu  0  would  punish 
him. 

Now  it  happened  that  all  the  fish  and 
sea  animals  of  all  sorts,  that  swam,  crawled, 
rolled  or  moved  in  any  way,  appeared  be- 
fore Kai  Riu  0,  the  Dragon-King,  and  his 
Queen — all  except  the  jelly-fish.  Then  the 
Queen  knew  the  jelly-fish  was  the  guilty 
one.  She  ordered  the  culprit  to  be  brought 
into  her  presence.  Then  publicly,  before 
all  her  retainers  and  servants,  she  cried  out : 

"  You  leaky-tongued  wretch,  for  your 
crime  of  betraying  the  confidence  of  your 
sovereign,  you  shall  no  longer  remain  among 
shell-fish.  I  condemn  you  to  lose  your 
shell." 

Then  she  stripped  off  his  shell,  and  left 


156  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

the  poor  jelly-fish  entirely  naked  and 
ashamed. 

"  Be  off,  you  tell-tale.  Hereafter  all  your 
children  shall  he  soft  and  defenceless." 

The  poor  jelly-fish  blushed  crimson, 
squeezed  himself  out,  and  swam  off  out  of 
sight.  Since  that  time  jelly-fishes  have  had 
no  shells. 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CON^ 
CERT. 


RESPITE  the  loss  of  the  monkey's 
liver,  the  queen  of  the  World  un- 
der the  Sea,  after  careful  attention 
and  long  rest,  got  well  again, 
and  was  able  to  be  about  her 
duties  nnd  govern  her  kingdom  well.  The 
news  of  her  recovery  created  the  wildest 
joy  all  over  the  under-world,  and  from  tears 
and  gloom  and  silence,  the  caves  echoed 
with  laughter,  and  the  sponge-beds  with 
music.  Every  one  had  on  a  "  white  face." 
Drums,  flutes  and  banjos,  which  had  been 
hung  up  on  coral  branches,  or  packed  away 
\n  shell  boxes,  were  taken  down,  or  brought 


168  JAPANESE   tfAIftt  WORLD. 

out,  and  right  merrily  were  they  struck  oi* 
thrummed  with  the  ivory  hashi  (plectrum). 
The  pretty  maids  of  the  Queen  put  on  th^ir 
ivory  thimble-nails,  and  the  Queen  again 
listened  to  the  sweet  melodies  on  the  koto^ 
(flat  harp),  while  down  among  the  smaller 
fry  of  fishy  retainers  and  the  scullions  of 
the  kitchen,  were  heard  the  constant  thump 
of  the  tsutsumi  (shoulder-drum),  the  bang 
of  the  taiko  (big  drum),  and  the  loud  cries 
of  the  dancers  as  they  struck  all  sorts  of 
attitudes  with  hands,  feet  and  head. 

No  allusion  was  openly  made  either  to 
monkeys,  tortoises  or  jelly-fish.  This  would 
not  have  been  polite.  But  the  jelly-fish,  in 
a  distant  pool  in  the  garden,  could  hear  the 
refrain,  "  The  rivers  of  China  run  into  the 
sea,  and  in  it  sinks  the  rain/' 

Now  in  the  language  of  the  Under-world 
people  the  words  for  "  river,"  and  "  skin/' 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES   A  CONCERT.       159 

(or  "  covering/')  and  "  China,"  and  "  shell," 
and  "rain,"  and  "jelly,"  are  the  same.  So 
the  chorus,  which  was  nothing  but  a  string 
of  puns,  meant,  "The  skin  of  the  jelly-fish 
runs  to  the  sea,  and  in  it  sinks  the  jelly. 

But  none  of  these  musical  performances 
Were  worthy  of  the  Queen's  notice ;  although 
as  evidences  of  the  joy  of  her  subjects,  they 
did  very  well.  A  great  many  entertain* 
ments  were  gotten  up  to  amuse  the  finny 
people,  but  the  Queen  was  present  at  none 
of  them  except  the  one  about  to  be  described, 
How  and  why  she  became  a  spectator  shall 
also  be  told. 

One  night  the  queen  was  sitting  in  the 
pink  drawing-room,  arrayed  in  her  queenly 
robes,  for  she  was  quite  recovered  and  ex- 
pected to  walk  out  in  the  evening.  Every- 
thing in  the  room,  except  a  vase  of  green 
and  golden  colored  sponge-plant,  and  a  plume 


160  JAPANESE   FAIRY   WOULD, 

of  glass-thread,  was  of  a  pink  color.  Then 
there  was  a  pretty  rockery  made  of  a  pyra- 
mid of  pumice,  full  of  embossed  rosettes  of 
living  sea-anemones  of  scarlet,  orange,  grey 
and  black  colors,  which  were  trained  to  fold 
themselves  up  like  an  umbrella,  or  blossom 
out  like  crysanthemums,  at  certain  hours  of 
the  day,  or  when  touched,  behaving  just 
like  four  o'clocks  and  sensitive  plants. 

All  the  furniture  and  hangings  of  the 
rooms  were  pink.  The  floor  was  made  of 
mats  woven  from  strips  of  shell-nacre,  bound 
at  the  sides  with  an  inch  border  of  pink 
coral.  The  ceiling  was  made  of  the  rarest 
of  pink  shells  wrought  into  flowers  and 
squares.  The  walls  were  decorated  with  the 
same  material,  representing  sea-scenes,  jewels 
and  tortoise-  shell  patterns.  In  the  tokonoma^ 
or  raised  space,  was  a  bouquet  of  sea- weed 
of  richest  dyes,  and  in   the  nooks    was  an 


LORb  CMTL£-HSH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         161 

open  cabinet  holding  several  of  the  queen's 
own  treasures,  such  as  a  tiara  which  looked 
like  woven  threads  of  crystal  (Euplectella), 
and  a  toilet  box  and  writing  case  made  of 
solid  pink  coral.  The  gem  of  all  was  a 
screen  having  eight  folds,  on  which  was 
depicted  the  palace  and  throne-room  of  Riu 
Gu,  the  visit  of  Toda,  and  the  procession  of 
the  Queen,  nobles  and  grandees  that  escorted 
the  brave  archer,  when  he  took  his  farewell 
to  return  to  earth. 

The  Queen  sat  on  the  glistening  sill  of  the 
Wide  window  looking  out  over  her  gardens, 
her  two  maids  sitting  at  her  feet.  The 
sound  of  music  wafted  through  the  coral 
groves  and  crystal  grottoes  reached  her  ear. 

"  O  medzurashi  gozarimasti  /"  (How 
wonderful  this  is!)  exclaimed  the  queen, 
half  aloud.      What  strange  music  is  this  ? 

12 


162  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

It  is  neither  guitar,  nor  hand,  nor  shoulder 
drum,  nor  singing.  It  seems  to  be  a  mixture 
of  all.  Hear !  It  sounds  as  if  a  band  with 
many  instruments  was  playing  to  the  ac- 
compainment  of  a  large  choir  of  voices." 

True  enough !  It  was  the  most  curious 
music  ever  heard  in  Riu  Gu,  for  to  tell  the 
truth  the  voices  were  not  in  perfect  accord, 
though  all  kept  good  time.  The  sound 
seemed  to  issue  from  the  mansion  of  Lord 
Cuttle-fish,  the  palace  physician.  The  queen's 
curiosity  was  roused. 

I  shall  go  and  see  what  it  is,"  said  she,  as 
she  rose  up.  Suddenly  she  recollected,  and 
exclaimed : 

"0,  no,  it  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to 
be  seen  in  public  at  this  hour  of  the  evening, 
and  if  it  is  in  Lord  Cuttle-fish's  mansion, 
I  could  not  enter  without  a  retinue,  No,  it 
won't  do  for  me,  it's  beneath  my  dignity," 


LORD  CtJTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         163 

said  her  majesty  to  herself  ns  she  went  over 
to  touch  her  anemones,  while  her  maids 
fanned  her,  seeing  their  mistress  flushed 
with  excitement,  and  fearing  a  relapse. 

Curiosity  got  the  better  of  the  queenly 
lady,  and  off  she  started  with  only  her  two 
maids  who  held  aloft  over  her  head,  the 
long  pearl-handled  fans  made  of  white 
shark's  fins. 

"  Besides,  thought  she,"  perhaps  the  con- 
cert is  outside,  in  the  garden.  If  so,  I  can 
look  down  and  see  from  the  great  green 
rock  that  overlooks  it,  and  my  lord  Kai  Riu 
O  need  not  know  of  it." 

The  Queen  walked  over  her  pebbled 
garden  walk,  avoiding  the  great  high  road 
paved  with  white  coral  rock,  and  taking  a 
by-pa^h  trimmed  with  fan-coral.  The  sound 
of  the  drums  and  voices  grew  louder,  until 
as  she  reached  the  top  of  a  green  rock  back 


164  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

of  Lord  Cuttle-fish's  garden,  the  whole  per- 
formance was  open  to  her  view. 

It  was  so  fuuny,  and  the  queen  wTas  so 
overcome  at  the  comical  sight,  that  she 
nearly  fell  down  and  got  the  hysterics, 
laughing  so  heartily.  She  utterly  forgot 
her  dignity,  and  laughed  till  the  tears  ran 
down  her  face.  She  was  so  afraid  she  would 
scream  out,  that  she  nearly  choked  herself 
to  death  with  her  sleeve,  while  her  alarmed 
maids,  though  meaning  nothing  by  their 
acts  but  friendly  help,  slapped  her  back  to 
give  her  breath. 

There,  at  the  top  of  a  high  green  rock,  all 
covered  with  barnacles,  on  a  huge  tuft  of 
sponge,  sat  Lord  Cuttle-fish,  playing  on 
three  musical  instruments  at  once.  His 
great  warty  speckled  head,  six  feet  high, 
like  a  huge  bag  upside  down,  was  bent  for- 
ward to  read  the  notes  of  his  music  book  by 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         165 

the  light  of  a  wax  candle,  which  was  stuck 
in  the  feelers  of  a  prickly  lobster,  and 
patiently  held.  Of  his  six  pulpy  arms  one 
long  one  ran  down  like  the  trunk  of  an 
elephant,  fingering  along  the  pages  of  a 
music  book.  Two  others  were  used  to  play 
the  guitar,  one  to  grasp  the  handle  and 
pinch  the  strings,  and  the  other  to  hold  the 
ivory  stick  to  strike  the  strings.  The  tsu- 
tsumi  (small  double  drum)  was  held  on  his 
shoulder  and  neck,  while  still  another  arm 
curled  up  in  a  bunch,  punched  it  like  a  fist. 
Below  him  was  a  another,  a  bass  drum,  set 
in  a  frame,  and  in  his  last  leg,  or  arm,  was 
clutched  a  heavy  drum-stick,  which  pounded 
out  tremendous  noise,  if  not  music.  There 
the  old  fellow  sat  with  his  head  bobbing, 
and  all  his  six  cuppy  arms  in  motion,  his 
rolling  blue  eyes  ogling  the  notes,  and  his 
mouth  like  an  elephant's,  screeching  out  the 


166  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

song,  which  was  made  up  of  puns  on  '  tor- 
toises,' '  monkeys,'  *  jelly-fishes/  '  livers  ' 
and  '  shell,'  though  the  real  words  made  an 
entirely  different  sense. 

All  this  time,  in  front  of  Lord  Cuttle-fish, 
sat  the  lobster  holding  up  the  light,  like  the 
kurombo,  or  black  fellows  who  hold  candles 
at  the  e  d  of  long-handled  candle-sticks  on 
the  stage  of  the  theatres  so  that  the  people 
may  see  the  faces  of  the  actors. 

But  the  audience,  or  rather  the  orchestra 
was  the  funniest  part  of  all.  They  could 
hardly  be  called  listeners,  for  they  were  all 
performers.  On  the  left  was  the  lusty  red- 
faced  tat  fish  with  its  gills  wide  open,  sing- 
ing at  the  top,  or  rather  at  the  bottom,  of 
his  throat,  and  beating  time  by  flapping  his 
wide  fins.  Just  back  of  him  was  a  little 
gudgeon,  silent  and  fanning  himself  with  a 
blue    flat  fan,  having  disgracefully  broken 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         167 

down  on  a  high  note.  Next  behind,  on  the 
right,  was  a  long-nosed  gar -fish  singing  alto, 
and  proud  of  her  slender  form,  with  the  last 
new  thing  in  folding  fans  held  in  her  fin. 
In  the  fore-ground  squatted  a  great  fat  frog 
with  big  bulging  eyes,  singing  base,  and 
leading  the  choir  by  flapping  his  webbed 
fingers  up  and  down  with  his  frightful  cavern 
of  a  mouth  wide  open.  Next,  sat  the  stately 
and  dignified  mackerel  who  was  rather 
scandalized  at  the  whole  affair,  and  kept 
very  still,  refusing  to  join  in.  At  the  mack- 
erel's right  fin,  squeaked  out  the  stupid  flat- 
headed  fugu  fish  with  her  big  eye  impolitely 
winking  at  the  servant-maid  just  bringing 
in  refreshments  ;  for  the  truth  was,  she  was 
thirsty  after  so  much  vocal  exercise.  The 
fttgu  was  very  vain  and  always  played  the 
coquette  around  the  hooks  of  the  fishermen' 


168  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD. 

who  always  liked  to  eat  her  because  she  was 
so  sweet,  yet  hejpsflesh  was  poison. 

"  How  strange  it  is  that  men  will  angle 
after  that  ugly  hussy,  when  she  poisons 
them,"  was  the  oft-repeated  remark  ol  the 
gar-fish. 

Just  behind  the  herring,  with  one  eye  on 
Lord  Cuttle-fish  and  one  on  the  coming 
refreshments,  was  the  skate.  The  truth 
must  be  told  that  the  entire  right  wing  of  the 
orchestra  was  very  much  demoralized  by  the 
smell  of  the  steaming  tea  and  eatables  just 
about  to  be  served.  The  suppon,  (tortoise 
with  a  snout  like  a  bird's  beak,)  though  he 
continued  to  sing,  impolitely  turned  his 
head  aw^y  from  Lord  Cuttle-fish,  and  his 
back  to  the  frog  that  acted  as  precentor. 
The  sucker,  though  very  homely,  and  bloat- 
ed with  fat,  kept  on  in  the  chorus,  and  pre- 
tended not  to  notice  the  waiter  and  her  tray 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         169 

and  cups.  Indeed,  Madame  Sucker  thought 
it  quite  vulgar  in  the  tortoise  to  be  so  eager 
after  the  cakes  and  wine. 

In  truth  the  concert  had  been  long,  and 
all  were  thirsty  and  ready  for  a  bite  and  a 
drink. 

Suddenly  the  music  ceased,  and  the  long 
clatter  on  the  drum  announced  the  end. 
Lord  Cuttle-fish  kicked  over  his  drum,  un- 
screwed his  guitar,  and  packed  it  away  in 
his  music  box.  He  thetn  slid  along  on  his 
six  slippery  legs  to  the  refreshments,  and 
actually  amused  the  company  by  standing 
on  his  head,  and  twirling  his  six  cuppy  arms 
around. 

At  this  Miss  Mackerel  was  quite  shocked, 
and  whispered  under  her  fan  to  the  gar- 
fish, "  It  is  quite  undignified.  What  would 
the  Queen  say  if  she  saw  it  ?"  not  knowing 
that  the  Queen  was  looking  on. 


170  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

Then  all  sat  down  on  their  tails,  propped 
upright  on  one  fin,  and  produced  their  fans 
to  cool  themselves  off.  The  lobster  pulled 
off  the  candle  stump  and  ate  it  up,  wiped 
his  feelers,  and  joined  the  party. 

The  liquid  refreshments  consisted  of  sweet 
a  nd  clear  sake  (rice  beer)  tea,  and  cherry- 
blossom  water.  The  solids  were  thunder- 
cakes,  egg-cracknels,  boiled  rice,  daikon 
radishes  and  maccaroni,  lotus-root,  taro, 
and  side-dishes  piled  up  with  flies,  worms, 
bugs  and  all  kinds  of  bait  for  the  small  fry 
— the  finny  brats  that  were  to  eat  at  the 
second  table.  The  tea  was  poured  by  the 
servants  of  Lord  Cuttle-fish.  These  were 
the  funniest  little  green  kappas ■,  or  creatures 
halfway  between  a  monkey  and  a  tortoise, 
with  yellow  eyes,  hands  like  an  ape,  hair 
clipped  short  on  their  heads,  eyes  like  frogs, 
and  a  mouth  that  stretched  from  ear  to  ear 


LORD  CUTTLE-FISH  GIVES  A  CONCERT.         171 

Poor  creatures !  they  were  only  too  happy 
to  know  that  though  they  looked  like 
monkeys  their  livers  would  not  do  for  medi- 
cine. 

The  Queen  did  not  wait  to  see  the  end  of 

the  feast,  but  laughing  heartily,  returned  to 
her  palace  and  went  to  sleep. 

After  helping  himself  with  all  the  cups  of 
his  arms  out  of  the  tub  of  boiled  rice,  until 
Miss  Mackerel  made  up  her  mind  that  he 
was  an  omeshi  gumi^  (rice  glutton,)  and 
drinking  like  a  shoal  of  fishes,  Lord  Cuttle- 
fish went  home,  coiled  himself  up  into  a 
ball,  and  fell  asleep.  He  had  a  headache 
next  morning. 


YORIMASA,  THE  BRAVE  ARCHER. 


ENZAN  YORIMASA  was  a  brave 
warrior  and  a  very  useful  man 
who  lived  more  than  eight  thou- 
sand moons  ago.  On  account 
of  his  valor  and  skill  in  the  use 
of  the  bow  he  was  called  to  Kioto,  and  pro- 
moted to  be  chief  guard  of  the  imperial 
palace.  At  that  time  the  emperor,  Narahito, 
could  not  sleep  at  night,  because  his  rest 
was  disturbed  by  a  frightful  beast,  which 
scared  away  even  the  sentinels  in  armor 
who  stood  on  guard. 

This  dreadful  beast  had  the  wings  of  a 
bird,  the  body  and  claws  of  a  tiger,  the  head 
of  a  monkey,  a  serpent  tail,  and  the  crack- 


YOftlMASA,    THE    BltAVE    ARCHER.  1?3 

ling  scales  of  a  dragon*  It  came  alter  night, 
upon  the  roof  of  the  palace,  and  howled 
and  scratched  so  dreadfully,  that  the  poor 
mikado  losing  all  rest,  grew  weak  and  thin. 
None  of  the  guards  dare  face  it  in  hand-to- 
hand  fight,  and  none  had  skill  enough  to  hit 
it  with  an  arrow  in  the  dark,  though  several 
of  the  imperial  corps  of  archers  had  tried 
again  and  again*  When  Yorimasa  received 
his  appointment,  he  strung  his  bow  carefully  j 
and  carefully  honing  his  steel-headed  arrows, 
stored  his  quiver,  and  resolved  to  mount 
guard  that  night  with  his  favorite  retainer. 
It  chanced  to  be  a  stormy  night.  The 
lightning  was  very  vivid,  and  Kaminari, 
the  thunder-god  was  beating  all  his  drums- 
The  wind  swirled  round  frightfully,  as 
though  Fuden  the  wind-god  was  emptying 
all  his  bags.  Toward  midnight,  the  falcon 
eye  of  Yorimasa  saw,  during  a  flash  of  light- 


174  Japanese  fairy  world. 

ning,  the  awful  beast  sitting  on  the  "  devils 
tile"  at  the  tip  of  the  ridge-pole,  on  the 
north-east  end  of  the  roof.  He  bade  his 
retainer  have  a  torch  of  straw  and  twigs 
ready  to  light  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  loosen 
his  blade,  and  wet  its  hilt-pin,  while  he 
fitted  the  notch  of  his  best  arrow  into  the 
silk  cord  of  his  bow. 

Keeping  his  eyes  strained,  he  pretty  soon 
saw  the  glare  now  of  one  eye,  now  two  eyes, 
as  the  beast  with  swaying  head  crept  along 
the  great  roof  to  the  place  on  the  eaves 
directly  under  the  milfedo's  sleeping-room. 
There  it  stopped. 

This  was  Yorimasa's  opportunity.  Aim- 
ing about  a  foot  to  the  right  of  where  he  saw 
the  eye  glare,  lie  drew  his  yard-length  sh^ft 
clear  back  to  his  shoulder,  and  let  fly.  A 
dull  thud,  a  frightful  howl,  a  heavy  bump 


YOfttMASA,    THE    BRAVE    ARCHER.  175 

On  the  ground,  and  the  writhing  of  some 
creature  among  the  pebbles,  told  in  a  few 
seconds  time  that  the  shaft  had  struck  flesh. 
The  next  instant  Yorimasa's  retainer  riished 
out  with  blazing  torch  and  joined  battle 
with  his  dirk.  Seizing  the  beast  by  the 
neck,  he  quickly  despatched  him,  by  cutting 
his  throat.  Then  they  flayed  the  monster, 
and  the  next  morning  the  hide  was  shown 
to  his  majesty. 

All  congratulated  Yorimasa  on  his  valor 
and  markmanship*  Many  young  men,  sons 
of  nobles  and  warriors,  begged  to  become 
his  pupils  in  archery.  The  mjkado  ordered 
a  noble  of  very  high  rank  to  present  to 
Yorimasa  a  famous  sword  named  Shishi-no-6, 
(King  of  Wild  Boars),  and  to  give  him  a 
lovely  maid  of  honor  named  Ayami,  to  wife. 
And  so  the  brave  and  the  fair  were  married. 


1?6  JAt>Att0Sti  tfAffilf  WORLD, 

and  to  this  day  the  fame  of  Yorimasais  like 
the"  ume-take-matsu,"  (plum-blossom,  bam- 
boo and  pine),  fragrant,  green  and  ever- 
during, 


YORIMASA    AND  THE  NIGHT-BEAST. 


%SITBR3ITTJ 
^ZPOBSfiJ 


WATANABE  cuts  off  THE  ONI'S 
ARM. 


JHEN  the  capital  of  Japan  was 
the  city  of  Kioto,  and  the 
mikado  dwelt  in  it  with  all  his 
court,  there  lived  a  brave  cap- 
tain of  the  guard  named  Yori- 
mitsu,  who  belonged  to  the  famous  Mina* 
moto  family.  He  was  also  called  Raiko, 
and  by  this  name  he  is  best  known  to  all 
the  boys  and  girls  in  Great  Japan.  Under 
Captain  Raiko  were  three  brave  guardsmen, 
one  of  whom  was  named  Watanabe  Tsuna 
The  duty  of  these  men-at-arms  was  to  watch 
&t  the  gates  leading  to  the  palace. 


178  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD. 

It  had  come  to  pass  that  the  blossom 
capital  had  fallen  in  a  dreadful  condition, 
because  the  guards  at  the  other  gates  had 
been  neglected.  Thieves  were  numerous 
and  murders  were  frequent,  so  that  every 
one  in  the  city  was  afraid  to  go  out  into  the 
streets  at  night.  Worse  than  all  else,  was 
the  report  that  oni  or  imps  were  prowling 
around  in  the  dark  to  seize  people  by  the 
hair  of  the  head.  Then  they  would  drag 
them  away  to  the  mountains,  tear  the  flesh 
off  their  bones,  and  eat  them  up. 

The  worst  place  in  the  city,  to  which  the 
horned  imps  came  oftenest,  was  at  the 
south-western  gate  called  the  Rajo-mon. 

To  this  post  of  danger,  Raiko  sent  Tsuna>. 
the  bravest  of  his  guards. 

It  was  on  a  dark,  rainy  and  dismal  night, 
that  Tsuna  started,  well-armed,  to  stand 
sentinel  at  the    gate.      His   trusty    helmet 


Watanabe  cuts  off  the  oni's  arm.       179 

Was  knotted  over  his  chin,  and  all  the  pieces 
of  his  armor  were  well  laced  up.  His 
sandals  were  girt  tight  to  his  feet,  and  in 
his  belt  was  thrust  the  trusty  sword,  freshly 
ground,  until  its  edge  was  like  a  razor's,  and 
with  it  the  owner  could  cut  asunder  a  hair 
floating  in  the  air. 

Arriving  at  the  red  pillar  of  the  gate, 
Tsuna  paced  up  and  down  the  stone  way 
with  eyes  and  ears  wide  open.  The  wind 
Was  blowing  frightfully,  the  storm  howled 
and  the  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  that  soon 
the  cords  of  Tsuna's  armor  and  his  dress 
were  soaked  through. 

The  great  bronze  bell  of  the  temples  on 
the  hills  boomed  out  the  hours  one  after 
another,  until  a  single  stroke  told  Tsuna  it 
Was  the  hour  of  the  Rat  (midnight). 

Two  hours  passed,  and  the  hour  of .  the 
Bull  sounded  (2  a,  m.,)  still  Tsuna  was  wide 


180  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

awake.  The  storm  had  lulled,  but  it  was 
darker  than  ever. 

The  hour  of  the  Tiger  (3  o'clock)  rung 
out,  and  the  soft  mellow  notes  of  the  temple 
bell  died  away  like  a  lullaby  wooing  one  to 
sleep,  spite  of  will  and  vow. 

The  warrior,  almost  without  knowing  it, 
grew  sleepy  and  fell  into  a  doze.  He  started 
and  woke  up.  He  shook  himself,  jingled 
his  armor,  pinched  himself,  and  even  pulled 
out  his  little  knife  from  the  wooden  scab- 
bard of  his  dirk,  and  pricked  his  leg  with 
the  point  of  it  to  keep  awake,  but  all  in  vain. 
Unconsciously  overcome,  he  leaned  against 
the  gate-post,  and  fell  asleep. 

This  was  just  what  the  imp  wanted.  All 
the  time  he  had  been  squatting  on  the  cross- 
piece  at  the  top  of  the  gate  waiting  hi& 
opportunity.  He  now  slid  down  as  softly 
as  a  monkey ,  and  with  his  iron -like  claws 


WATANABE    CUTS  OFF  THE  ONl'S   ARM.         181 

grabbed  Tsuna  by  the  helmet,  and  began  to 
drag  him  into  the  air. 

In  an  instant  Tsuna  was  awake.  Seizing 
the  hairy  wrist  of  the  imp  with  his  left 
hand,  with  his  right  he  drew  his  sword, 
swept  it  round  his  head,  and  cut  off  the 
demon's  arm.  The  oni,  frightened  and  howl- 
ing with  pain,  leaped  up  the  post  and  dis- 
appeared in  the  clouds. 

Tsuna  waited  with  drawn  sword  in  hand, 
lest  the  oni  might  come  again,  but  in  a  few 
hours  morning  dawned.  The  sun  rose  on 
the  pagodas  and  gardens  and  temples  of  the 
capitol  and  the  nine-fold  circle  of  flowery 
hills.  Everything  was  beautiful  and  bright. 
Tsuna  returned  to  report  to  his  captain, 
carrying  the  oni's  arm  in  triumph.  Raiko 
examined  it,  and  loudly  praised  Tsuna  for 
his  bravery,  and  rewarded  him  with  a  silken 
sash. 


182  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD. 

Now  it  is  said  that  if  an  oni's  arm  be  cut 
off  it  cannot  be  made  to  unite  with  the  body 
again,  if  kept  apart  for  a  week.  So  Raiko 
warned  Tsuna  to  lock  it  up,  and  watch  it 
night  and  day,  lest  it  be  stolen  from  him. 

So  Tsuna  went  to  the  stone-cutters  who 
made  idols  of  Buddha,  mortars  for  pounding 
rice,  and  coffers  for  burying  money  in  to  be 
hidden  away  in  the  ground,  and  bought  a 
strong  box  cut  out  of  the  solid  stone.  Tt 
had  a  heavy  lid  on  it,  which  slid  in  a  groove 
and  came  out  only  by  touching  a  secret 
spring.  Then  setting  it  in  his  bed  cham- 
ber, he  guarded  it  day  and  night,  keeping 
the  gate  and  all  his  doors  locked.  He 
allowed  no  one  who  was  a  stranger  to  look 
at  the  trophy. 

Six  days  passed  by,  and  Tsuna  began  to 
think  his  prize  was  sure,  for  were  not  all 
his  doors  tight  shut  ?     So  he  set  the  box  out 


WAT  AN  ABE  CUTS  OFF  THE  ONl's    ARM.  183 

in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  twisting  some 
rice-straw  fringe  in  token  of  sure  victory 
and  rejoicing,  he  sat  down  in  ease  before  it. 
He  took  off  his  armor  and  put  on  his  court 
robes.  During  the  evening,  but  rather  late, 
there  was  a  feeble  knock  like  that  of  an  old 
woman  at  the  gate  outside. 

Tsuna  cried  out,  "  Who's  there  ? " 

The  squeaky  voice  of  his  aunt  (as  it  seemed), 
who  was  a  very  old  woman,  replied  "  Me 
I  want  to  see  my  nephew,  to  praise  him  for 
his  bravery  in  cutting  the  oni;s  arm  off." 

So  Tsuna  let  her  in  and  carefully  locking 
the  door  behind  her,  helped  the  old  crone 
into  the  room,  where  she  sat  down  on  the 
mats  in  front  of  the  box  and  very  close  to 
it.  Then  she  grew  very  talkative,  and 
praised  her  nephew's  exploit,  until  Tsuna 
felt  very  proud. 

All  the  time  the  old  woman's  left  shoul- 


184  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

der  was  covered  with  her  dress  while  her 
right  hand  was  out.  Then  she  begged 
earnestly  to  be  allowed  to  see  the  limb. 
Tsuna  at  first  politely  refused,  but  she 
urged,  until  yielding  affectionately  he  slid 
back  the  stone  lid  just  a  little. 

"  This  is  my  arm  "  cried  the  old  hag,  turn- 
ing into  an  oni,  and  dragging  out  the  arm. 

She  flew  up  to  the  ceiling,  and  was  out  of 
the  smoke-slide  through  the  roof  in  a  twink- 
ling. Tsuna  rushed  out  of  the  house  to 
shoot  her  with  an  arrow,  but  he  saw  only  a 
demon  far  off  in  the  clouds  grinning  horri- 
bly. He  noted  carefully  however  that  the 
direction  of  the  imps'  flight  was  to  the  north- 
west. 

A  council  was  now  held  by  Raiko's  band, 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  lurking-place  of 
the  demons  must  be  in  the  mountains  of  Oye 
in  the  province  of  Tango.  It  was  resolved 
to  hunt  Out  and  destroy  the  imps. 


WATANABE     KILLS     THE     GREAT 
SPIDER. 


URING  the  time  in  which  Wat- 
anabe  was  forming  his  plan  to 
destroy  the  onis  that  lurked  in 
the  Oye  mountains,  the  brave 
Raiko  fell  sick,  and  daily  grew 
weaker  and  paler.  When  the  demons  found 
this  out  they  sent  the  three-eyed  imp  called 
Mitsutne  Kozo,  to  plague  him. 

This  imp,  which  had  a  snout  like  a  hog's, 
three  monstrous  blue  eyes,  and  a  mouth  full 
of  tusks,  was  glad  that  the  brave  soldier 
could  no  longer  fight  the  onis.  He  would 
approach  the  sick  man  in  his  chamber,  leer 
horribly  at  him,  loll  out  his  tongue,  and  pull 


186  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

down  the  lids  of  his  eyes  with  his  hairy 
fingers,  until  the  sight  sickened  Raiko  more 
and  more. 

But  Raiko,  well  or  ill,  always  slept  with 
his  trusty  sword  under  his  pillow,  and  pre- 
tending to  be  greatly  afraid,  and  to  cower 
Jslnder  the  bed-clothes,  the  kozo  grew  bolder 
and  bolder.  When  the  imp  was  near  the 
bed,  Raiko  drew  his  blade,  and  cut  the  oni 
across  his  huge  double  nose.  This  made  the 
demon  howl,  and  he  ran  away,  leaving 
tracks  of  blood. 

When  Tsuna  and  his  band  heard  of  their 
brave  master's  exploit,  they  came  to  con- 
gratulate him,  and  offered  to  hunt  out  the 
demon  and  destroy  him. 

They  followed  the  red  drops  until  they 
came  to  a  cavern  in  the  mountains.  Enter- 
ing this  they  saw  in  the  gloom  a  spider  six 
feet  high,  with  legs  as  long  as  a  fishing-pole, 


WAT  AN  ABE  KILLS  THE  GREAT  SPIDER.  187 

and  as  thick  as  a  dai-kon  radish.  Two  great 
yellow  eyes  glared  at  them  like  lamps.  They 
noticed  a  great  gaping  wound  as  if  done  by 
a  sword-cut  on  his  snout. 

It  was  a  horrible,  nasty  hairy  thing  to 
fight  with  swords,  since  to  get  near  enough, 
they  would  be  in  danger  of  the  creature's 
claws.  So  Tsuna  went  and  chopped  down 
a  tree  as  thick  as  a  man's  leg,  leaving  the 
roots  on,  while  his  comrades  prepared  a  rope 
to  tie  up  the  monster  like  a  fly  in  a  web. 
Then  with  a  loud  yell  Tsuna  rushed  at  the 
spider,  felled  him  with  a  blow,  and  held  him 
down  witli  the  tree  and  roots  so  he  could 
not  bite  or  use  his  claws.  Seeing  this,  his 
comrades  rushed  in,  and  bound  the  mon- 
ster's legs  tight  to  his  body  so  that  he  could 
not  move.  Drawing  their  swords  they 
passed  them  through  his  body  and  finished 
him.     Returning  in    triumph  to    the    city, 


188  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

they   found  their    dear   captain   recovered 
from  his  illness. 

Raiko  thanked  his  brave  warriors  for 
their  exploits,  made  a  feast  for  them,  and 
gave  them  many  presents.  At  this  feast 
Captain  Raiko  told  them  that  he  had  re- 
ceived orders  from  the  mikado  to  march 
against  the  oni's  den  in  Tango,  slaughter 
them  all,  and  rescue  the  prisoners  he  should 
find  there.  Then  he  showed  them  his  com- 
mission written  in  large  letters, 

"  I  command  you,  Raiko,  to  chastise  the 
onis." 

He  also  allowed  them  to  examine  the 
gold  brocade  bag,  in  which  it  was  kept,  and 
which  one  of  the  fair  ladies  of  the  court  had 
made  for  him  with  her  own  tapering  fingers. 

At  this  time  many  families  in  Kioto  were 
grieving  over  the  loss  of  their  children,  and 
even  while  Tsuna  had  been  away,  several 


WAT  AN  ABE  KILLS  TttE  GREAT  SPIDER.  189 

lovely  damsels  had  been  seized  and  taken  to 
the  demons  den. 

Lest  the  onis  might  hear  of  their  comings 
and  escape*  the  four  trusty  men  disguised 
themselves  as  Komuso  or  wandering  priests 
of  the  mountains*  They  put  on  over  their 
helmets,  huge  hats  like  wash-bowls,  made  of 
straw,  woven  so  tightly  that  no  one  could 
see  their  faces.  They  covered  their  armor 
with  very  cheap  and  common  clothes,  and 
then  after  worshipping  at  the  shrines,  began 
their  march. 


RAXEO  AND  THE  SHI-TEN  DOJL 


>UITE  PATHLESS  were  the  deso- 
late mountains  of  Tango,  for  no 
one  ever  went  into  them  except 

once  in  a  while  a  poor  wood* 
cutter  or  charcoal-burner  ;  yet 
Raiko  and  his  men  set  out  with  stout  hearts, 
There  were  no  bridges  over  the  streams, 
and  frightful  precipices  abounded.  Once 
they  had  to  stop  and  build  a  bridge  by  fell* 
ing  a  tree,  and  walking  across  it  over  a  dan* 
gerous  chasm.  Once  they  came  to  a  steep 
rock,  to  descend  which  they  must  make  a 
ladder  of  creeping  vines.  At  last  they 
reached  a  dense  grove  at  the  top  of  a  cliff* 


EAIIiO    ANt)    THE    SHI-TEN    DOJt.  193 

far  up  to  the  clouds,  which  seemed  as  if  it 
might  contain  the  demon's  castle. 

Approaching,  they  found  a  pretty  maiden 
Washing  some  clothes  which  had  spots  of 
blood  oil  them.  They  said  to  her,  "  Sister, 
Miss,  why  are  you  here,  and  what  are  you 
doing  ?" 

'•  Ah,"  said  she,  with  a  deep  sigh,  "  you 
must  not  come  here.  This  is  the  haunt  of 
demons.  They  eat  human  flesh  and  they 
will  eat  yours."  "  Look  there "  said  she 
pointing  to  a  pile  of  white  bones  of  men^ 
women  and  children,  "  You  must  go  down 
the  mountain  as  quickly  as  you  came."  Say- 
ing this  she  burst  into  tears. 

But  instead  of  being  frightened  or  sor- 
rowful, the  brave  fellows  nearly  danced  for 
joy.  M  We  have  come  here  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  the  demons  by  the  mikado's 
orders,"  said  Raiko,  patting  his  breast,  where 


192  JAPANESE  FAitLY  WORLD, 

inside  his  dress  in  the  damask  bag  was  the 
imperial  order. 

At  this  the  maiden  dried  her  tears  and 
smiled  so  sweetly  that  Raiko's  heart  was 
touched  by  her  beauty* 

"  But  how  came  you  to  live  among  these 
cannibal  demons,"  asked  Raiko. 

She  blushed  deeply  as  she  replied  sadly 
"  Although  they  eat  men  and  old  women* 
they  keep  the  young  maidens  to  wait  on 
them/' 

"  It's  a  great  pity"  said  Kaiko,  "  but*  we 
shall  now  avenge  our  fellow  subjects  of  the 
mikado,  as  well  as  your  shame  and  cruel 
treatment,  if  you  will  show  us  the  way  up 
the  cliff  to  the  den/' 

They  began  to  climb  the  hill  but  they 
had  not  gone  far  before  they  met  a  young 
oni  who  was  a  cook  in  the  great  doji's 
kitchen.     He  was  carrying  a  human   limb 


RAIRO  AND  THE  SHI-TEN  DOJI.  193 

for  his  master's  lunch.  They  gnashed  their 
teeth  silently,  and  clutched  their  swords 
under  their  coats.  Yet  they  courteously 
saluted  the  cook-demon,  and  psked  for  an 
interview  with  the  chief.  The  demon 
smiled  in  his  sleeve,  thinking  what  a  fine 
dinner  his  master  would  make  of  the  four 
men. 

A  few  feet  forward,  and  a  turn  in  the  path 
brought  them  to  the  front  of  the  demon's 
castle,  Among  tall  and  mighty  boulders  of 
rock,  which  loomed  up  to  the  clouds,  there 
was  an  opening  in  the  dense  groves,  thickly 
covered  with  vines  nnd  mosses  like  an  arbor. 
From  this  point,  the  view  over  the  plains 
below  commanded  a  space  of  hundreds  of 
miles.  In  the  distance  the  red  pagodas, 
white  temple-gables  and  castle  towers  of 
Kioto  were  visible. 

*4 


194  .  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

Inside  the  cave  was  a  banqueting  hall 
large  enough  to  seat  one  hundred  persons. 
Toe  floor  was  neatly  covered  with  new,  clean 
mats  of  sea-green  rice-straw,  on  which 
tables,  silken  cushions,  arm-rests,  drinking- 
cups,  bottles  and  many  other  articles  of  com- 
fort lay  about.  The  stone  walls  were  richly 
decorated  with  curtains  and  hangings  of  fine 
silken  stuffs. 

At  the  end  of  the  long  hall,  on  a  raised 
dais,  our  heroes  presently  observed,  as  a 
curtain  was  lifted,  the  chief  demon,  Shi-ten 
doji,  of  august,  yet  frightful  appearance.  He 
was  seated  on  a  heap  of  luxurious  cushions 
made  of  blue  and  crimson  crape,  stuffed 
with  swan's  down.  He  was  leaning  on  a 
golden-  arm-rest.  His  body  was  quite  red, 
and  he  w  as  round  and  fat  like  a  baby  grown 
up.  He  had  very  black  hair  cut  like  a  small 
boy's,  and  on  the  top  of  his  head,  just  peep- 


KAIKO  AND  THE  SHI-TEN  DOJI.  195 

ing  through  the  hair  were  two  very  short 
horns.  Around  him  were  a  score  of  lovely 
maidens — the  fairest  of  Kioto — on  whose 
beautiful  faces  was  stamped  the  misery  they 
dared  not  fully  show,  yet  could  not  entirely 
conceal.  Along  the  wall  other  demons  sat 
or  lay  at  full  length,  each  one  with  his  hand- 
maid seated  beside  him  to  wait  on  him  and 
pour  out  his  wine.  All  of  them  were  of 
horrible  aspect,  which  only  made  the  beauty 
of  the  maidens  more  conspicuous,  Seeing 
our  heroes  walk  in  the  hall  led  by  the  cook, 
each  one  of  the  demons  was  as  happy  as  a 
spider,  when  in  his  lurking  hole  he  feels  the 
jerk  on  his  web-thread  that  tells  him  a  fly 
is  caught.  All  of  them  at  once  poured  out 
a  fresh  saucer  of  sake  and  drank  it  down. 

Raiko  and  his  men  separated,  and  began 
talking  freely  with  the  demons  until  the 
partitions  at  one  corner  were  slid  aside,  and 


196  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

a  iroop  of  little  demons  who  were  waiter* 
boys  entered.  They  brought  in  a  host  of 
dishes,  and  the  onis  fell  to  and  ate.  The 
noise  of  their  jaws  sounded  like  the  pound- 
ing oi  a  rice  mill. 

Our  heroes  were  nearly  sickened  at  the 
repast,  for  it  consisted  chiefly  of  human  fleshy 
while  the  wine-cups  were  made  of  empty 
human  skulls.  However,  they  laughed  and 
talked  and  excused  themselves  from  eating, 
saying  they  had  just  lunched. 

As  the  demons  drank  more  and  more  they 
grew  lively,  laughed  till  the  cave  echoed, 
and  sang  uproarious  songs.  Every  time 
they  grinned,  they  showed  their  terrible 
tusks,  and  teeth  like  fangs.  All  of  them  had 
horns,  though  most  of  these  were  very  short. 

The  doji  became  especially  hilarious,  and 
drank  the  health  of  every  one  of  his  four 
guests  in  a  skull  full  of  wine.     To   supply 


RAIKO  AND  THE  SHI-TEN  DOJI.  197 

him  there  was  a  tub  full  of  sake  at  hand, 
and  his  usual  drinking-vessel  was  a  dish 
which  seemed  to  Tsu  a  to  be  as  large  as  a 
full  moon. 

Raiko  now  offered  to  return  the  courtesies 
shown  them  by  dancing  ,c  the  Kioto  dance," 
for  which  he  was  famous.  Stepping  out  in- 
to the  centre  of  the  hall,  with  his  fan  in  one 
hand,  he  danced  gracefully  and  with  such 
wonderful  ease,  that  the  onis  screamed  with 
delight,  and  clapped  their  hands  in  applause, 
saying  they  had  never  seen  anything  to 
equal  it.  Even  the  maidens,  lost  in  admira- 
tion of  the  polished  courtier,  forgot  their 
sorrow,  and  felt  as  happy  for  the  time  as 
though  they  were  at  home  dancing. 

The  dance  finished,  Raiko  took  from  his 
bosom  a  bottle  of  sake,  and  offered  it  to  the 
chief  demon  as  a  gift,  saying  it  was  the  best 
wine  of  Sakai.   The  delighted  doji  drank  and 


198  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

gave  a  sip  to  each  of  his  lords  saying,  "  This 
is  the  best  liquor  I  ever  ta-sted,  you  must 
drink  the  health  of  our  friends  in  it." 

Now  Raiko  had  bought,  at' the  most  skill- 
ful druggists'  in  the  capital,  a  powerful  sleep- 
ing potion,  and  mixed  it  with  the  wine, 
which  made  it  taste  very  sweet.  In  a  few 
minutes  all  the  demons  had  dropped  off 
asleep,  and  their  snores  sounded  like  the 
rolling  thunder  of  the  mountains. 

Then  Raiko  rose  up  and  gave  the  signal 
to  his  comrades.  Whispering  to  the  maidens 
to  leave  the  room  quietly,  they  drew  their 
swords,  and  with  as  little  noise  as  possible 
cut  the  throats  of  the  demons.  No  sound 
was  heard  but  the  gurgling  of  blood  that 
ran  out  in  floods  on  the  floor.  The  doji 
lying  like  a  lion  on  his  cushions  was  still 
sleeping,  the  snores  issuing  out  of  his  nose 
like  thunder  from  a  cloud.     The  four  war- 


RATKO  AND  THE  SHI  TEN  DOJI.  199 

riors  approached  him  and  like  loyal  vassals 
as  they  were,  they  first  turned  their  faces 
towards  Kioto,  reverenced  the  mikado,  and 
prayed  for  the  blessing  of  the  gods  who  made 
Japan.  Raiko  then  drew  near,  and  measur- 
ing the  width  of  the  doji's  neck  with  his 
sword  found  that  it  would  be  short.  Sud- 
denly, the  blade  lengthened  of  itself.  Then 
lifting  his  weapon,  he  smote  with  ail  his 
might  and  cut  the  neck  clean  through. 

In  an  instant,  the  bloody  head  flew  up  in 
the  air  gnashing  its  teeth  and  rolling  its 
yellow  eyes,  while  the  horns  sprouted  out 
to  a  horrible  length,  the  jaws  opening  and 
shutting  like  the  edges  of  an  earthquake 
fissure.  It  flew  up  and  whirled  round  the 
room  seven  times.  Then  with  a  rush  it  flew 
at  Raiko' s  head,  and  bit  through  the  straw 
hat  and  into  the  iron  helmet  inside.  But  this 
final  effort  exhausted  its  strength,  it  smotions 
ceased  and  it  fell  heavily  to  the  floor. 


200  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

Anxiously  the  comrades  helped  their 
fallen  leader  to  rise,  and  examined  his  head. 
But  he  was  unhurt,— not  a  scratch  was  on 
him.  Then  the  heroes  congratulated  each 
other  and  after  despatching  the  smaller 
demons,  brought  out  all  the  treasure  and 
divided  it  equally.  Then  they  set  the  castle 
on  fire  and  buried  the  bones  of  the  victims, 
setting  up  a  stone  to  mark  the  spot.  All 
the  maidens  and  captives  were  assembled 
together,  and  in  great  state  and  pomp  they 
returned  to  Kioto.  The  virgins  were  re- 
stored to  their  parents,  and  many  a  desolate 
home  was  made  joyful,  and  many  mourning 
garments  taken  off.  Raiko  was  honored  by 
the  mikado  in  being  made  a  kuge  (court 
noble,)  and  was  appointed  Chief  of  the  entire 
garrison  of  Kioto.  Then  all  the  people 
were  grateful  for  his  valor. 


THE  SAZAYE  AND  THE  TAI. 


AZAYE  is  a  shell-fish,  which  is 
very  proud  of  its  shell.  This  is 
high,  full  of  points  like  towers, 
and  thick  like  a  castle  wall. 
When  feeding,  enjoying  itself  or 
moving  around,  its  long  neck  and  body  are 
stretched  out  before  it,  armed  with  its  hard 
operculum,  which  is  like  an  iron  shield,  or 
the  end  of  a  battering  ram.  The  operculum 
fits  the  entrance  to  its  shell-like  a  trap  door. 
As  soon  as  any  danger  is  near  it  pulls  in  its 
head,  and  slams  itself  shut  with  a  loud  noise. 
On  account  of  the  hardness  and  thickness 
of  his  shell,  the  sazaye  is  the  envy  of  the 
soft-bodied  fishes  that  covet   his    security. 


202  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

But  on  the  other  hand  the  sazaye,  though  a 
slow  moving  creature,  is  apt  to  be  too  proud 
of  his  defence  and  trust  too  much  to  his 
fancied  security. 

One  day  a  Tai  (red  fish)  and  a  Herring 
were  looking  at  the  strong  shell  of  the  sazaye, 
and  becoming  quite  envious,  the  Tai  said: 

"  What  a  mighty  strong  castle  you  do  live 
in,  Mr.  Sazaye.  When  you  once  shut  up 
your  shell  no  one  need  even  try  to  touch 
you.     You  are  to  be  envied  sir." 

The  Sazaye  was  tickled  at  the  flattery, 
but  pretending  to  be  very  humble,  shook 
his  head  and  said  : 

It  is  very  kind  in  you,  my  lords,  to  say 
so,  but  my  little  hut  is  nothing  but  a  si.  ell ; 
yet  I  must  say  that  when  I  Jock  my  door  I 
do  not  feel  any  anxiety,  and  I  really  pity 
J^ou  poor  fellows  who  have  no  shell  at  all." 


THE  SAZAYE  AND  THE  TAI.  203 

He  had  hardly  got  the  last  word  out  of 
his  grisly  throat,  when  suddenly  there  was  a 
great  splash,  and  away  darted  the  tai  and 
herring,  never  resting  their  fins  or  tails  a 
moment  till  safe  out  of  danger. 

The  Sazaye  drew  in  his  flap  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye,  and  keeping  as  quiet  as  possi- 
ble, wondered  what  the  noise  was.  Was  it 
a  stone,  or  a  net,  or  a  fish-hook  ?  He  won- 
dered if  the  tai  and  herring  were  caught. 

"  Surely  they  must  be,"  thought  he. 
"  However  I'm  safe,  thanks  to  my  castle 
shell,"  he  muttered. 

So  drawing  his  trap  tighter  he  took  a  long 
nap.  When  he  woke  up,  quite  refreshed,  he 
cautiously  loosened  his  trap  and  peeped  out. 

"  How  strange  every  thing  looks,  am  I 
dreaming  V  said  he  as  he  saw  piles  of  fish, 
clams,  prawns  and  lobsters  lying  on  a  board 
all  around  him. 


204  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

k<  Ugh,  what  is  that?"  clapping  himself 
shut  as  a  great  black-nosed  and  long- whisk- 
ered dog  poked  his  muzzle  near  him. 

Poor  shell-fish!  There  he  lay  in  a  fish- 
mongers shop,  with  a  slip  of  paper  marked 
"ten  cash,"  (1-10  ot  a  cent,)  on  his  back.  A 
few  hours  later,  purchased  by  a  laborer's 
wife  for  his  dinner,  he  was  stewing  along 
with  several  of  his  relative's  in  his  own 
juice.  The  castle,  of  which  he  was  so  proud, 
serving  first  as  a  dinner-pot,  then  as  a  sau- 
cer, after  which  it  was  thrown  away  in  a 
heap  and  burned  into  lime. 


THE  FISH  STALL  IN  TOKIO. 


VBR3ITY] 


SMELLS  AND  JINGLES, 


;  EDO  people  are  very  fond  of  broiled 
eels*     A  rich  merchant,  named 
Kisaburo,  who  was  very  miserly 
with  his  money,  once  moved  his 
quarters  next  door  to  the  shop  of 
one  Kichibei,  who  caught  and  cooked    eels 
for  a  living.    During  the  night  Mr.  Kichibei 
caught  his  stock  in  trade,  and  in  the  day- 
time served  them,  smoking  hot,  to  his  cus- 
tomers.    Cut  into  pieces  three*  or  four  in- 
ches long,  thny  were  laid  to  sizzle  on  a  grid- 
iron over  red  hot  charcoal,  which  was   kept 
in  a  glow  by  constant  fanning, 

Kisaburo,    wishing  to   save   money,    and 
having  a  strong  imagination,  daily  took  hi$ 


206  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD, 

seat  at  meal  time  close  to  his  neighbor's  door. 
Eating  his  boiled  rice;  and  snuffing  in  the 
odors  of  the  broiled  (?fis,  as  they  were  wafted 
in,  he  enjoyed  with  his  nose,  what  he  would 
not  pay  for  to  put  in  his  mouth.  In  this 
way,  as  he  flattered  himself,  he  saved  much 
money,  and  his  strong  box  grew  daily 
heavier, 

Kichibei,  the  eel-broiler,  on  finding  this 
out,  thought  he  would  charge  his  stingy 
neighbor  for  the  smell  of  his  eels.  So,  mak- 
ing out  his  bill  he  presented  it  to  Kisaburo, 
who  seemed  to  he  much  pleased.  He  called 
to  his  wife  to  bring  his  iron-bound  money 
box,  which- was  done.  Emptying  out  the 
shining  mass  of  kobans  (oval  gold  pieces, 
worth  five  or  six  dollars),  uhi-bu  and  ni-bu 
(square  silver  pieces,  worth  a  quarter  and  a 
half  dollar  respectively)  he  jingled  the  coins 
at  a  great  rate>  and  then  touching  the  eel- 


A  JINGLE   FOR  A   SNIFF. 


5- 


^:B~ATf^ 


OP  THE      w^ 

'UNIVERSITY) 


%XP 


?h&& 


SMtfLLS    AND    JINGLES.  207 

man's  bill  with  his  fan,  bowed,  low  and  said 
with  a  smile : 

"  All  right,  neighbor  Kichibei,  we  are 
square  now." 

"  What V  cried  the  eel-frier,  are  you  not 
going  to  pay  me  ?  " 

"  Why  yes,  I  have  paid  you.  You  have 
charged  me  for  the  smell  of  your  ells,  and  I 
have  paid  you  with  the  sound  of  my  money." 


THE  LAKE  OF  THE  LUTE  AND  THE 
MATCHLESS  MOUNTAIN. 


F  ALL  the  beautiful  objects  in 
"the  land  of  the  holy  gods,"  as 
the  Japanese  call  their  country* 
none  are  more  beautiful  than 
Fuji  Mountain  and  Lake  Biwa* 
The  one  is  a  great  cone  of  white  snow,  the 
other  is  a  sheet  of  heaven-blue  water,  in 
shape  like  a  lute  with  four  strings. 

Sweeping  from  twenty  square  leagues  of 
space  out  of  the  plain  and  rising  twelve 
thousand  feet  in  air,  Fuji,  or  Fusi  Yama, 
casts  its  sunset  shadow  far  out  on  the  ocean, 
and  from  fourteen  provinces  gleams  the 
splendor, of  its  snowy  crest,     It  sits  like   a 


ME    MATCHLESS   MOUNTAIN.  209 

king  on  his  throne  in  the  heart  of  Suruga 
Province. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  the  west 
as  the  crane  wings  her  flight,  in  the  heart  ci 
Omi,  is  Biwa  Ko,  the  lake  of  the  lute.  It  is 
sixty  miles  long  and  as  blue  as  the  sky 
whose  mirror  it  is.  Along  its  banks  rise 
white-walled  castles  and  stretch  mulberry 
plantations.  On  its  bosom  rise  wooded 
islands,  white,  but  not  with  frost ;  for  thou- 
sands of  herons  nestle  on  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  like  lilies  on  their  stems,  Down 
under  the  blue  depths,  say  the  people,  is  the 
Dragon  shrine  (Riu  Gu),  where  dwell  the 
dragon-helmed  Kai  Riu  0,  and  his  consort, 
the  shell-crowned  Queen  of  the  World 
Under  the  Sea. 

Why  do  the  pilgrims  from  all  over  the 
^empire    exclaim    joyfully,    while    climbing 


210  JAPANESE  FAIRY      WORLD. 

Fuji's  cinder-beds  and  lava-blocks,  "  I  am  & 
man  of  Omi "  ?  Why,  when  quenching  their 
thirst  with  the  melted  snow-water  of  Fuji 
crater,  do  they  cry  out  "  I  am  drinking  from 
Lake  Biwa"?  Why  do  the  children  clap 
their  hands,  as  they  row  or  sail  over  Biwa's 
blue  surface,  and  say  :  ':  I  am  on  top  of  Fuji 
Yarna"? 

To  these  questions  the  Japanese  legend 
gives  answer. 

When  Heaven  and  earth  were  first  created, 
there  was  neither  Lake  of  Biwa  nor  Moun- 
tain of  Fuji.  Suruga  and  Om\  were  both 
plains.  Even  for  long  after  men  inhabited 
Japan  and  the  Mikados  had  ruled  for  cen- 
turies there  was -neither  earth  so*  nigh  to 
heaven  nor  water  ^so  close  to  the  under- 
world as  the  peaks  of  Fuji  and  the  bottom 
of  Biwa.     Men  drove  the  plow  and  planted 


THE  MATCHLESS  MOUNTAIN.        211 

the  rice  over  the  very  spot  where  crater  and 
deepest  depth  now  are. 

But  one  night  in  the  ancient  times  there 
was  a  terrible  earthquake.  All  the  world 
shook,  the  clouds  lowered  to  the  earth,  floods 
of  water  poured  from  the  sky,  and  a  sound 
like  the  fighting  of  a  myriad  of  dragons  filled 
the  air.  In  the  morning  all  was  serene  and 
calm.  The  sky  was  blue.  The  earth  was 
as  bright  and  all  was  as  "white-faced"  as 
when  the  sun  goddess  first  came  out  from 
her  hiding  in  the  cave. 

The  people  of  Omi  awoke,  scarce  expect- 
ing to  find  either  earth  or  heaven,  when  lo ! 
they  looked  on  what  had  yesterday  been 
tilled  land  or  barren  moor,  and  there  was  a 
great  sheet  of  blue.  Was  it  sky  ?  Had  a 
sheet  of  the  "  blue  field  of  heaven  "  fallen 
down  ?  Was  it  the  ocean  ?  They  came 
near  it,  tasted  it.     It  was  fresh  and  sweet 


212  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD, 

as  a  fountain-rill.  They  looked  at  it  from 
the  hill-tops,  and,  seeing  its  outline,  called 
it  "  the  lake  of  the  four-stringed  lute.'* 
Others,  proud  of  their  new  possession,  named 
it  the  Lake  of  Omi, 

Greater  still  was  the  suprise  of  the  Suruga 
people.     The  sailors,  far  out  at  sea,  rubbed 
their    eyes  and    wondered    at   the    strange 
shape  of  the  towering  white  cloud.     Was  it 
the  Iwakura,  the  eternal  throne  of  Heaven, 
come  down  to  rest  on  earth  out  of  the  many 
piled    white     clouds    of    heaven  ?      Some 
thought  they  had  lost  their  reckoning ;  but 
were  assured  when  they  recognized  familiar 
landmarks  on  shore.  Many  a  cottager  woke 
up  to  find  his  house,  which  lay  in  a  valley 
the  day  before,  was  now  far  up  on  the  slope, 
with  the  distant  villages  and  the  sea  visible ; 
while  far,  far  above  shone  the  snowy  head  of 
a  mountain,  whose  crown  lay  in  the  blue  sky 


THE  MATCHLESS  MOUNTAIN        213 

At  night  the  edges  of  the  peak,  like  white 
fingers,  seemed  to  pluck  the  stars  from  the 
Milky  Way. 

"  What  shall  we  call  this  new-born  child 
of  the  gods  r  said  the  people.  And  various 
names  were  proposed. 

"  There  is  no  other  mountain  so  beautiful 
in  all  the  earth,  there's  not  its  equal  any- 
where ;  therefore  call  it  Fuji,  (no  two  such), 
the  peerless,  the  matchless  mountain,"  said 
one. 

It  is  so  tall,  so  comely,  so  grand,  call  it 
Fuji,  (rich  scholar,  the  lordly  moun  in)/' 
said  another. 

"  Call  it  Fuji,  (never  dying,  the  immortal 
mountain),"  said  a  third. 

"Call  it,  after  the  festal  flower  of  joy, 
Fuji"  (Wistaria)  said  another,  as  he  decked 
the  peak  of  his  hat  with  the  drooping  clus- 
ters of  the  tender  blue  blossom.     "  It  looks 


214  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD. 

blue  and  purple  in  the  distance,  just  like  tlie 
fuji  flower."  Various  as  the  meanings  of 
the  name  were,  they  sounded  all  alike  to  the 
ear.  So,  without  any  quarreling,  all  agreed 
to  call  it  Fuji  and  each  to  choose  his  own 
meaning.  To  this  day,  though  many  a 
learned  dispute  and  the  scratching  of  the 
written  character  on  the  sand  with  walking 
sack,  or  on  paper  with  pencil,  or  on  the 
palm  of  the  hand  with  forefinger  takes  place, 
all  pronounce  the  name  alike  as  they  rave 
on  the  beauties  of  Fuji  Yama. 

So  went  forth  into  the  countries  bounding 
"  the  four  seas  "  the  belief  that  there  was  a 
white  mountain  of  perfect  form  in  Japan, 
and  that  whoever  ascended  it  would  live 
long  and  even  attain  immortaility  ;  and  that 
somewhere  on  the  mountain  was  hidden, the 
elixir  of  immortality,  which  if  any  one  drank 
he  would  live  forever.     Now  in  one  of  the 


THE  MATCHLESS  MOUNTAIN.        215 

kingdoms  of  far-off  China  there  lived  a  rich 
old  king,  who  had  abundance  of  treasures, 
health,  and  many  children.  But  he  did  not 
wish  to  dio,  and,  hence,  spent  his  days  in 
studying  the  lore  and  arts  of  the  alchemists, 
who  believed  they  would  finally  attain  to 
the  transmutation  of  lead  into  gold,  find  the 
universal  solvent  of  all  things,  the  philoso- 
phers' stone,  the  elixir  of  life,  and  all  the 
wondrous  secrets  which  men  in  Europe  long 
afterward  labored  to  discover. 

Among  the  king's  sages  was  one  old  man 
of  mighty  wisdom,  who  had  heard  of  the 
immortal  mountain  of  Japan,  and,  learning 
of  the  manner  of  its  appearance,  concluded 
that  the  Japan  Archipelago  contained  the 
Fortunate  Isles  and  in  it  was  the  true  elixir 
of  life.  He  divulged  his  secret  to  the  king, 
and  advised  him  to  make  the  journey  to  the 
Land  of  the  Rising;  Sun. 


216  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

Overjoyed  at  the  good  news  and  the  faith- 
fulness of  his  loyal  sage,  the  king  loaded 
him  with  gifts  and  honors.  He  selected 
five  hundred  of  the  most  beauteous  youths 
and  virgins  of  his  kingdom,  and,  fitting  out 
a  fleet,  sailed  away  to  the  Happy  Isles  of 
the  East.  Coasting  along  the  shore  until 
they  recognized  the  glorious  form  of  the 
mountain,  they  landed  and  began  the 
ascent.  Alas !  for  the  poor  king.  The 
rough  sea  and  severe  storms  had  worn  on 
his  aged  frame  and  the  fatigues  of  the  ascent 
were  so  great,  that  before  reaching  the  top 
he  fainted  away,  and  before  the  head  of  the 
procession  had  set  foot  on  the  crater  edge 
the  monarch  was  dead.  Sadly  they  gave 
up  the  search  for  the  elixir  of  life,  and,  de- 
scending the  mountain,  buried  their  master 
in  the  Province  of  Kii.  Then,  in  their  ex- 
uberance of  youth  and  joy,  thinking  little 


THE    MATCHLESS    MOUNTAIN.  217 

of  the  far  future  and  wishing  to  enjoy  the 
present,  they  separated  in  couples,  married, 
and,  disposing  of  their  ship  and  cargo,  set- 
tled in  the  country,  and  colonized  the  east- 
ern part  of  Japan. 

Long  afterward,  when  Buddhist  believers 
came  to  Japan,  one  of  them,  climbing  Fuji, 
noticed  that  around  its  sunken  crater  were 
eight  peaks,  like  the  petals  of  their  sacred 
lotus  flower.  Thus,  it  seemed  to  them, 
Great  Buddha  had  honored  Japan,  by  be- 
stowing the  sacred  symbol  of  Nirvana,  or 
Heaven,  on  the  proudest  and  highest  part 
of  Japan.  So  they  also  named  it  Fuji,  "  the 
sacred  mountain  "  ;  and  to  this  day  all  the 
world  calls  this  sacred  mountain  Fuji,  or 
Fusi  Yama,  while  the  Japanese  people  be- 
lieve th&t  the  earth  which  sunk  in  Omi  is 
the  same  which,  piled  to  the  clouds,  is  the 
lordly  mountain  of  Suruga. 


THE  WATERFALL  OP  YORO,  OR  THE 
FOUNTAIN  OF  YOUTH. 


|ONG,  LONG  AGO,  when  the  old- 
est stork  was  young,  there  lived 
an  aged  woodcutter  and  his  son 
on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain 
Tagi,  in  the  province  of  Mino. 
They  gained  a  frugal  livelihood  by  cutting 
brushwood  on  the  hill-side,  and  carrying  it 
in  bundles  on  their  back  to  sell  in  the  near- 
est market  town  ;  for  they  were  too  poor  to 
own  an  ox.  With  the  money  thus  receiv  ed 
they  bought  rice  and  radishes,  their  daily 
food. 

Only   once  or    twice    a    year,    at   New 
Year's  and  on  the  mikado's  birth-day,  could 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  YOUTH.        219 

they  afford  to  treat  themselves  to  a  mess  of 
bean-curd  or  fresh  fish.  Yet  the  old  man 
was  very  fond  of  rice- wine,  and  every  week 
bought  a  gourd  full  to  keep  his  old  blood 
warm. 

As  the  years  rolled  on  the  aged  father's 
limbs  became  so  stifl  that  he  was  unable  any 
longer  to  climb  the  mountains.  So  his  son, 
now  grown  to  be  a  sturdy  man,  cut  nearly 
double  the  quantity  of  wood  and  thus  kept 
the  family  larder  full.  The  old  man  was  so 
proud  of  his  son  that  he  daily  stood  at  sun- 
set in  front  of  his  rustic  gate  to  welcome 
him  back.  And  to  see  the  old  daddy  and 
the  young  stripling  remove  their  headker- 
cbiefs,  and  bow  with  hands  on  knees  in 
polite  fashion,  bending  their  backs  and  suck- 
ing in  their  breath,  out  of  respect  to  each 
other,  and  to  hear  them  inquiring  after  one 
•another's  health,  showering  mutual  compli- 


220  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

merits  all  the  time,  one  would  have  thought 
they  had  not  seen  each  other  for  eight  years, 
instead  of  eight  hours. 

One  winter  the  snow  fell  long  and  thick, 
until  all  the  ground  in  field  and  forest  was 
covered  several  feet  over.  The  bamboo 
branches  bent  with  their  weight  of  white, 
the  pine  boughs  broke  under  their  load,  and 
even  the  stone  idols  along  the  wayside  were 
covered  up.  At  first,  even  with  the  hardest 
work,  the  young  woodcutter  could  scarcely 
get  and  sell  wood  to  buy  enough  food  to 
keep  them  both  alive.  He  often  went  hun- 
gry himself,  so  that  his  father  might  have 
his  warm  wine. 

One  day  he  went  by  another  path  up  one 
of  the  mountain  dells  with  his  rope  basket 
strapped  to  his  back,  and  the  empty  gourd- 
bottle  at  his  belt.  While  gloomily  grieving 
over  his  hard  luck,  the  faint  odor  of  rice- 
wine  seemed  borne  on  the  breeze. 


THE    FOUNTAIN    OF    IfOttM.  221 

fie  snuffed  the  air.  It  was  no  mistake. 
u  Here's  luck,  surely/'  said  he,  throwing 
down  his  bundle* 

Hurrying  forward  he  saw  a  foaming  water- 
fall tumbling  over  the  rocks  in  a  thick  stream. 
As  he  drew  near^  some  of  the  spray  fell 
on  his  tongue.  He  tasted  it,  smacked  his 
lips  and  throwing  down  his  cord  and  basket 
to  the  ground,  filled  his  gourd  and  hastened 
home  to  his  father. 

Every  day,  till  the  end  of  his  father's  life . 
did  he  come  to  this  wonderful  cascade  of 
Wine,  and  thus  the  old  man  was  nourished 
for  many  a  long  year. 

The  news  of  this  fountain  of  youth  spread 
abroad  until  it  reached  the  court.  The 
mikado,  hearing  of  it,  made  a  journey  to 
Mino  to  see  the  wonderful  waterfall.  lit 
honor  of  this  event,  and  as  a  reward  of  filial 


222  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WOULD. 

piety,  the  name    of  the    year-period    wag 
changed  to  Yoro,  (Nourishing  Old  Age). 

To  this  day*  many  people  young  and  old 
go  out  to  enjoy  picnic  parties  at  the  foot  of 
the  waterfall;  which  now,  however,  runs 
honest  water  only,  which  makes  the  cheeks 
red ;  and  not  the  wonderful  wine  that  once 
tipped  the  old  daddy's  nose  with  perpetual 
vermilion. 


THE  EARTHQUAKE  FISH, 


UKASHI,  MUKASHI,  (as  most 
Japanese  stories  begin),  iong> 
long  ago,  when  the  gods  came 
down  from  heaven  to  subdue  the 
earth  for  themikados,  and  civil- 
ize the  country,  there  were  a  great  many 
earthquakes,  and  nothing  to  stop  them.  The 
world  continually  rocked,  and  men's  houses 
and  lives  were  never  safe. 

Now  the  two  gods  who  were  charged  with 
the  work  of  subduing  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  world  were  Kashima  and  Katdri. 
Having  done  their  work  well,  and  quieted 
all  the  enemies  of  the  Sun-goddess,  they 
came  to  the  province  of  i  iitachi.     Kashima^ 


224  JAPANESE    FAIM    WOULD, 

sticking  his  sword  into  the  earth,  ran  it 
through  to  the  other  side^  leaving  the  hilt 
above  the  ground.  In  the  course  of  centu- 
ries  this  mighty  sword  shrunk  and  turned  to 
stone,  and  the  people  gave  it  the  name  of 
Kaname  zs/ii,  (The  rock  of  Kaname)* 

Now  Kaname  neans  the  rivet  in  a  fan* 
that  holds  all  the  sticks  together,  and  they 
gave  the  name  •'  rivet-rock,"  because  it  is 
the  rivet  that  binds  the  earth  together.  No 
one  could  ever  lift  this  rock  except  Kashima 
the  mighty  one  who  first  set  it  in  the  earth* 

Yet  even  Kashima  never  raises  it,  except 
to  stop  an  earthquake  of  unusual  violence* 
When  the  earth  quivers,  it  is  because  the 
great  earthquake-fish  or  jishin-uwo  is  rest- 
less or  angry.  This  jishin-uzvo  is  a  great 
creature  something  like  a  catfish.  It  is  about 
seven  hundred  miles  long,  and  holds  the 
world  on  its  back.     Its  tail  is  at  Awomori 


THE    EARTHQUAKE  FISH.  225 

in  the  north,  and  the  base  of  its  head  is  at 
Kioto,  so  that  all  Japan  lies  on  top  of  it. 
To  his  mouth  are  attached  huge  twirling 
feelers,  which  are  just  like  the  hideous  mous- 
taches which  the  hairy-faced  men  from  be- 
yond the  Tai-kai  (Pacific  Ocean)  wear  on 
their  lips.  As  soon  as  these  begin  to  move, 
it  is  a  sign  that  the  monster  is  in  wrath. 
When  he  gets  angry,  and  flaps  his  tail  or 
bumps  his  head,  there  is  an  earthquake. 
When  he  flounders  about  or  rolls  over,  there 
is  terrible  destruction  of  life  and  property 
on  the  surface  of  the  earth  above. 

In  order  to  keep  the  earthquake-fish  quiet, 
the  great  giant  Kashima  is  appointed  to 
watch  him.  His  business  is  to  stand  near 
by,  and  when  the  monster  becomes  violent 
Kashima  must  jump  up  and  straddle  him, 
stnd  hold  his  gills,  put   his  foot  on  his  fin ; 

\6 


226  JAPANESE   FAIRY   WORLD, 

and  when  necessary  lift  up  the  great  rock 
of  Kaname  and  hold  him  down  with  its 
weight.  Then  he  becomes  perfectly  quiet* 
and  the  earthquake  ceases.  Hence  the  peo-* 
pie  sing  this  earthquake  verse : 

"  No  monster  can  move  the  Kaname  rock 

Though  he  tug  at  it  never  so  hard, 
For  over  it  stands,  resisting  the  shocks 

The  Kashima  Kami  on  guard." 

Another  verse  they  sing  as  fallows  : 

"  These  are  things 

An  earthquake  brings  ; 

At  nine  of  the  bell  they  sickness  fortell, 

At  five  and  seven  betoken  rain, 

At  four  the  sky  is  cleared  thereby, 

At  six  and  eight  comes  wind  again/* 


THE  DREAM  STORY  OF  GOJXRO. 


NLY  a  few  years  ago  there  was  a 
gentleman  in  Fukui,  Japan,  who 
had  a  son,  a  bright  lad  of  twelve? 
who  was  very  dilligent  at  school 
and  had  made  astonishing  prog- 
ress in  his  studies.  He  was  especially  quick 
at  learning  Chinese  characters,  of  which 
every  Japanese  gentleman  who  wishes  to  be 
called  educated  must  know  at  least  two 
thousand.  For,  although  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  are  two  very  different  languages, 
yet  the  Japanese,  Coreans  and  Chinese  use 
the  same  letters  to  write  with,  just  as  Eng- 
ligh,  Germans,  French  and  Spaniards  all 
employ  one  and  the  same  alphabet. 


228  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

Now  Gojiro's  father  had  promised  him 
that  when  he  read  through  five  volumes  of 
the  Nihongi,  or  Ancient  History  of  Japan, 
he  would  give  him  for  a  present  a  book  of 
wonderful  Chinese  stories.  Gojiro  per- 
formed his  task,  and  his  father  kept  his 
promise.  One  day  on  his  return  from  a 
journey  to  Kioto,  he  presented  his  son  with 
sixteen  volumes,  all  neatly  silk-bound,  well 
illustrated  with  wood-cuts,  and  printed 
clearly  on  thin,  silky  mulberry  paper,  from 
the  best  wooden  blacks.  It  will  beremem 
bered  that  several  volumes  o?  Japanese  lit- 
erature make  but  one  of  ours,  as  they  are 
much  lighter  and  thinner  than  ours, 

Gojiro  was  so  delighted  with  the  wonder- 
ful stories  of  heroes  and  warriors,  travelers 
and  sailors,  that  he  almost  felt  himself  in 
China.  He  read  far  into  the  night,  with  the 
lamp  inside   of  his  musquito  curtain  ;  and 


THE  DREAM  STORY  OF  GOJIRO.       229 

finally  fell  asleep,  still  undressed,  hut  with 
his  head  full  of  all  sorts  of  Chinese  wonders. 
He  dreamed  he  was  far  away  in  China, 
walking  along  the  banks  of  the  great  Yel- 
low River.  Everything  was  very  strange. 
The  people  talked  an  entirely  different 
language  from  his  own ;  had  on  different 
clothes  ;  and,  instead  of  the  nice  shaven  head 
and  top-knot  of  the  Japanese,  every  one 
wore  a  long  pigtail  of  hair,  that  dangled  at 
his  heels.  Even  the  boats  were  of  a  strange 
form,  and  on  the  fishing  smacks  perched  on 
projecting  rails,  sat  rows  of  cormorants, 
each  with  a  ring  around  his  neck.  Every 
few  minutes  one  of  them  would  dive  under 
the  water,  and  after  a  while  come  struggling 
up  with  a  fish  in  its  mouth,  so  big  that  the 
fishermen  had  to  help  the  bird  into  the  boat. 
The  game  was  then  flung  into  a  basket,  rind 
the  cormorant   was  i  reated  to  a  slice  of  raw 


230  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

fish,  by  way  of  encouragement  and  to  keep 
the  bird  from  the  bad  habit  of  eating  the 
live  fish  whole.  This  the  ravenous  bird 
would  sometimes  try  to  do,  even  though  the 
ring  was  put  around  his  neck  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  preventing  him  from  gulp- 
ing down  a  whole  fish  at  once. 

It  was  springtime,  and  the  buds  were 
just  bursting  into  flower.  The  river  was 
full  of  fish,  especially  of  carp,  ascending  to 
the  great  rapids  or  cascades.  Here  the  cur- 
rent ran  at  a  prodigious  rate  of  swiftness, 
and  the  waters  rippled  and  boiled  and  roared 
with  frightful  noise.  Yet,  strange  to  say? 
many  of  the  fish  were  swimming  up  the 
stream  as  if  their  lives  depended  on  it. 
They  leaped  and  floundered  about;  but 
every  one  seemed  to  be  tossed  back  and  left 
exhausted  in  the  river,  where  they  panted 
and  gasped  for  breath  in   the  eddies  at  the 


THE  DREAM  STORY  OF  GOJIRO.  231 

side.  Some  were  so  bruised  against  the 
rocks  that,  after  a  few  spasms,  they  floated 
white  and  stiff,  belly  up,  on  the  water,  dead, 
and  were  swept  down  the  strenm.  Still  the 
shoal  leaped  and  strained  every  fin,  until 
their  scales  flashed  in  the  sun  like  a  host  of 
armored  warriors  in  battle,  Gojiro,  enjoy- 
ing it  as  if  it  were  a  real  conflict  of  wave 
and  fishes,  clapped  his  hands   with  delight. 

Then  Gojiro  inquired,  by  means  of  writ- 
ing, of  an  old  white-bearded  sage  standing 
by  and  looking  on  :  "  What  is  the  name  of 
this  part  of  the  river  ?  " 

"  We  call  it  Lung  Men,"  said  the  sage. 

"  Will  you  please  write  the  characters  for 
it,"  said  Gojiro,  producing  his  ink-case  and 
brush-pen,  with  a  roll  of  soft  mulberry  paper. 

The  sage  wrote  the  two  Chinese  charac- 
ters, meaning  e-  The  Gate  of  the  Dragons," 
or  "  Dragons'    Gate,"  and  turned    away    to 


232  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WORLD. 

watch  a  carp,  that  seemed  almost  up  into 
smooth  water. 

"  Oh !  I  see,"  said  Gojiro  to  himself. 
"That's  pronounced  Riu  Mon  in  Japanese. 
I'll  go  further  on  and  see.  There  must  be 
some  meaning  in  this  fish-climbing."  He 
went  forward  a  few  rods,  to  where  the 
banks  trended  upward  into  high  bluffs, 
crowned  by  towering  firs,  through  the  top 
branches  of  which  fleecy  white  clouds 
sailed  slowly  along,  so  near  the  sky  did  the 
tree-tops  seem.  Down  under  the  cliffs  the 
river  ran  perfectly  smooth,  almost  like  a 
mirror,  and  broadened  out  to  the  opposite 
shore.  Far  back,  along  the  current,  he 
could  still  see  the  rapids  shelving  down.  It 
was  crowded  at  the  bottom  with  leaping 
fish,  whose  numbers  gradually  thinned  out 
toward  the  center;  while  near  the  top,  close 
to  the  edge  of  level  water,  one  solitary  fish, 


THE  DREAM  STORY  OF  GOJIRO.  233 

of  powerful  fin  and  tail,  breasted  the  steep 
stream.  Now  forward  a  leap,  then  a  slide 
backward,  sometimes  further  to  the  rear 
than  the  next  leap  made  up  for,  then  steady 
progress,  then  a  slip,  but  every  moment 
nearer,  until,  clearing  foam  and  ripple  and 
spray  at  one  bound,  it  passed  the  edge  and 
swam  happily  in  smooth  water. 

It  was  inside  the  Dragon  Gate. 

Now  came  the  wonderful  change.  One 
of  the  fleecy  white  clouds  suddenly  left  the 
host  in  the  deep  blue  above,  dipped  down 
from  the  sky,  and  swirling  round  and  round 
as  if  it  wer**  a  water  spout,  scratched  and 
frayed  the  edge  of  the  water  like  a  fisher's 
troll.  The  carp  saw  and  darted  toward  it. 
In  a  moment  the  fish  was  transformed  into 
a  white  dragon,  and,  rising  into  the  cloud, 
floated  off  toward  Heaven.  A  streak  or  two 
of  red  fire,  a  gleam  of  terrible  eyes,  and  the 


234  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

flash  of  white  scales  was  all  that  Gojiro  saw. 
Then  he  awoke. 

"  How  strange  that  a  poor  little  carp,  a 
common  fish  that  lives  in  the  river,  should 
become  a  great  white  dragon,  and  soar  up 
into  the  sky,  to  live  there,"  thought  Gojiro, 
the  next  day,  as  he  told  his  mother  of  his 
dream. 

"  Yes,"  said  she ;  and  what  a  lesson  for 
you.  See  how  the  carp  persevered,  leaping 
over  all  difficulties,  never  giving  up  till  it 
became  a  dragon.  I  hope  my  son  will 
mount  over  all  obstacles,  and  rise  to  honor 
and  to  high  office  under  the  government/' 

"  Oh !  oh!  now  I  see  I"  said  Gojiro.  "  That 
is  what  my  teacher  means  when  he  says  the 
students  in  Tokio  have  a  saying,  "  I'm  a 
fish  to  day,  but  I  hope  to  be  a  dragon  to- 
morrow," when  they  go  to  attend  examin- 
ation; and  that's  what  Papa  meant  when 


■Y.+.  \:<:YM 


THE    \sri.NT  OF  THE  DIIA<;<>>  s  GATE, 


THE  DREAM  STORY  OF  GOJIRO.  235 

lie  said :  "  That  fish's  son,  Kofuku,  has 
become  a  white  dragon,  while  I  am  yet  only 
a  carp." 

So  on  the  third  day  of  the  third  month, 
at  the  Feast  of  Flags,  Gojiro  hoisted  the 
nobori.  It  was  a  great  fish,  made  of  paper, 
fifteen  feet  long  and  hollow  like  a  bag.  It 
was  yellow,  with  black  scales  and  streaks  of 
gold,  and  red  gills  and  mouth,  in  which  two 
strong  strings  were  fastened.  It  was  hoisted 
up  by  a  rope  to  the  top  of  a  high  bamboo 
pole  on  the  roof  of  the  house.  There  the 
breeze  caught  it,  swelled  it  out  round  and 
full  of  air.  The  wind  made  the  fins  work, 
and  the  tail  flap,  aud  the  head  tug,  until  it 
looked  just  like  a  carp  trying  to  swim  the 
rapids  of  the  Yellow  River  —the  symbol  of 
ambition  and  perseverance. 


THE  PROCESSION  OF  LORD  LONG- 
LEGS. 


lOVELY  AND  BRIGHT  in  the 
month  of  May,  at  the  time  of  rice- 
planting,  was  the  day  on  which 
the  daimio,  Lord  Long-legs,  was 
informed  by  his  chamberlain, 
Hop-hop,  that  on  the  morrow  his  lordship's 
retinue  would  be  in  readiness  to  accompany 
their  worshipful  Lord  Long-legs  on  his 
journey.  This  Lord  Long-legs  was  a  daimio 
who  ruled  over  four  acres  of  rice-field  in 
Echizen,  whose  revenue  was  ten  thousand 
rice-stalks.  His  retainers,  who  were  all 
grasshoppers,  numbered  over  six  thousand, 
while    his  court  consisted  only    of  nobles, 


LOM)   toM-LEGS    MoC£SSlON.  25? 

such  as  Mantis,  Beetle,  and  Pinching-bug* 
The  maids  of  honor  who  waited  on  his  queen 
Katydid,  were  lady-hugs,  butterflies,  and 
goldsmiths,  and  his  messengers  were  fire^ 
flies  and  dragon-flies.  Once  in  a  while  a 
beetle  was  sent  on  an  errand ;  but  these 
stupid  fellows  had  such  a  habit  of  running 
plump  into  things,  and  bumping  their  heads 
so  badly  that  they  always  forgot  what  they 
were  sent  for*  Besides  these,  he  had  a  great 
many  servants  in  the  kitchen—  such  as 
grubs,  spiders,  toads,  etc.  The  entire  popu* 
lation  of  his  dominion,  including  the  com* 
mon  folks,  numbered  several  millions,  and 
ranked  all  the  way  from  horse-flies  down  to 
ants,  mosquitoes,  and  ticks* 

Many  of  his  subjects  were  very  industrious 
and  produced  fine  fabrics,  which,  however* 
were  seized  and  made  use  of  by  great  mon- 
sters, called   men*     Thus  the  gray  worms 


238  JAPANESE  MlM*  Woftlfli 

kept  spinning-wheels  in  their  heads.  They 
had  a  fashion  ot  eating  mulberry  leaves,  and 
changing  them  into  fine  threads,  called  silk, 
The  wasps  made  paper,  and  the  bees  dis^ 
tilled  honey.  There  was  another  insect 
which  spread  white  wa&  on  the  trees.  These 
Were  all  retainers  or  friendly  vessals  of  Lord 
Long-legs. 

Now  it  was  Lord  Long-legs'  duty  once  a 
year  to  go  up  to  Yedo  to  pay  his  respects,  to 
the  great  Tycoon  and  to  spend  several  weeks 
in  the  Eastern  metropolis.  I  shall  not  take 
the  time  nor  tax  the  patience  of  my  readers 
in  telling  about  all  the  bustle  and  prepara* 
tion  that  went  on  in  the  yashiki  (mansion) 
of  Lord  Long-legs  for  a  whole  week  previ-4 
ous  to  starting.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  clothes 
were  washed  and  starched,  and  dried  on  a 
board,  to  keep  them  from  shrinking;  trunks 
and    baskets    were  packed;    banners    and 


LOJLi)    LOM-LEGS5    PItOCtiSSIOfr.  ^39 

Umbrellas  were  put  in  order ;  the  lacquer  on 
the  brass  ornaments ;  shields  and  swords 
and  spears  were  all  polished;  and  every  lit- 
tle item  was  per  so.  ally  examined  by  the 
daimio's  chief  inspector.  This  functionary 
was  a  black-and-white-legged  mosquito,  who, 
on  account  of  his  long  nose,  could  pry  into 
a  thing  further  and  see  it  easier  than  any 
other  of  his  lordship's  officers;  and,  if  any* 
thing  went  wrong,  he  could  make  more  noise 
over  it  than  any  one  else.  As  for  the  re- 
tainers, down  to  the  very  last  lackey  and 
coolie,  each  one  tried  to  outshine  the  other 
in  cleanliness  and  spruce  dress. 

The  Bumble-bee  brushed  off  the  pollen 
from  his  legs ;  and  the  humbler  Honey-bee, 
after  allowing  his  children  to  suck  his 
paws,  to  get  the  honey  sticking  to  them, 
spruced  up  and  listened  attentively  to  the 
orders  read  to  him  by  the  train-leader,  Sir 


240  JAPANESE  flAIRY   WORLD. 

Locust,  who  prided  himself  on  being  seven* 
teen  years  old,  and  looked  on  all  the  others 
as  children.     He  read  from  a  piece  of  wasp- 
nest  paper  :     "  No  leaving  the  line  to    suck 
flowers,  except  at  halting-time/'  The  Blue- 
tailed  Fly  washed  his  hands  and   face  over 
and  over  again*     The  lady-bugs  wept  many 
tears,  because  they  could   not   go  with  the 
company-     the     crickets     chirped     rather 
gloomily,  because    none  with    short  limbs 
could    go    on    the  journey ;    while   Daddy 
Long-legs  almost  turned  a  somersault  for  joy 
when  told  he  might  carry  a  bundle  in  the 
train.     All  being  in   readiness,  the  proces- 
sion was  to  start  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn* 
ing.  The  exact  minute  was  to  be  announced 
by  the   time-keeper  of  the   mansion,   Flea 
san,  whose  house  was  on  the  back  of  Neko, 
a  great  black  cat,  who  lived  in  the  porter's 
lodge  of  the  castle,  near   by.     Flea  san  was 


LORD  LONG-LEGS;  PROCESSION.  241 

to  notice  the  opening  or  slits  in  the  mon- 
ster's moony-green  eyes,  which  when  closed 
to  a  certain  width  would  indicate  six  o'clock. 
Then  with  a  few  jumps  she  was  to  announce 
it  to  a  mosquito  friend  of  hers,  who  would 
fly  with  the  news  to  the  gate-keeper  of  the 
yashiki,  one  Whirligig  by  name. 

So,  punctually  to  the  hour,  the  great 
double  gate  swung  wide  open,  and  the  pro- 
cession passed  out  and  marched  on  over  the 
hill.  All  the  servants  of  Lord  Long-legs 
were  out,  to  see  the  grand  sight.  They 
were  down  on  their  knees,  saying :  "  0 
shidzukani,"  (please  go  slowly).  When  their 
master's  palanquin  passed,  they  bowed  their 
heads  to  the  dust,  as  was  proper.  The  ladies, 
who  were  left  behind,  cried  bitterly,  and 
soaked  their  paper  handkerchiefs  with  tears, 
especially  onv  fair  brown  creature,  who  was 

17 


242  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD, 

next  of  kin  to  Lord  Long-legs,  being  an  anf 
on  his  mother's  side. 

The  procession  was  closed  by  six  old 
daddies  (spiders),  marching  two  by  two, 
who  were  a  little  stupid  find  groggy, having 
had  a  late  supper,  and  a  jolly  feast  the  night 
before.  When  the  great  gate  slammed  shut, 
one  of  them  caught  the  end  of  his  foot  in  itr 
and  was  lamed  for  the  rest  of  the  journey. 
This  old  Daddy  Long-legs,  hobbling  along* 
with  a  bundle  on  his  back,  was  the  only 
funny  thing  in  the  procession,  and  made 
much  talk  among  bystanders  on  the  road. 

Thisisthe  orderand  the  way  they  looked. 
First  there  went  out,  far  ahead,  a  plump,  tali 
Mantis,  with  a  great  long  baton  of  grass, 
which  he  swung  to  and  fro  before  him,  from 
right  to  left,  (like  a  drum-major),  crying 
out :  "  Shitaniro,  down  on  your  knees  t 
Get  down  with  you!"  Whereat  all  the  ants, 


loud  long-legs'  procession.  243 

bugs  and  lizards  at  once  bent  their  forelegs, 
and  the  toads,  which  were  already  squatting, 
bobbed  their  noses  in  the  dust.  Even  the 
mud-turtles  poked  their  heads  out  of  the 
water  to  see  what  was  going  on.  All  the 
worms  and  grubs  who  lived  up  in  trees  or 
tall  bushes  had  to  come  down  to  the  ground. 
It  was  forbidden  to  any  insect  to  remain  on 
a  high  stalk  of  grass,  lest  he  might  look 
down  on  His  Highness.  Even  the  Inch- 
worm  had  to  wind  himself  up  and  stop 
measuring  his  length,  while  the  line  was 
passing.  And  m  case  of  grubs  or  moths  in 
the  nest  or  cocoon,  too  young  to  crawl  out, 
the  law  compelled  their  parents  to  cover 
them  over  with  a  leaf.  It  would  be  an  in- 
sult to  Lord  Long-legs  to  look  down  on  him. 
Next  followed  two  lantern-bearers,  holding 
glow-worms  for  lanterns  in  their  forepaws. 
These  were  wrapped  in  cases  made  of  leaves, 


244  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

which  they  took  off  at  night.  Behind  were  six 
fire-flies,  well  supplied  with  self-acting  lamps, 
which  they  kept  hidden  somewhere  under 
their  wings.  Next  marched  four  abreast 
the  band  of  little  weevils,  carrying  the  um- 
brellas of  state,  which  were  morning-glories 
— some  open,  some  shut.  Behind  them 
strutted  four  green  grasshoppers,  who  were 
spear-bearers,  carrying  pink  blossoms.  Just 
before  the  palanquin  were  two  tall  dandies, 
high  lords  themselves  and  of  gigantic  stature 
and  imposing  bellies,  who,  with  arms  akimbo 
and  feelers  far  up  in  the  air,  bore  aloft  high 
over  all  the  insignia  of  their  Lord  Long- 
legs.  All  these  fellows  strutted  along  on 
their  hind  legs,  their  backs  as  stifl  as  a  hemp 
stalk,  their  noses  pointing  to  the  stars,  and 
their  legs  striding  like  stilts.  The  priest  in 
his  robes,  a  praying  beetle,  who  was  chap- 
lain, walked  on  solemnly. 


LORD  LONG-LEGS'  PROCESSION.  245 

Meanwhile  a  great  crowd  of  spectators 
lined  the  path  ;  but  all  were  on  their  knees. 
Frogs  and  toads  blinked  out  of  the  sides  of 
their  heads.  The  pretty  red  lizards  glided 
out,  to  see  the  splendid  show  ;  worms  stop- 
ped crawling ;  and  all  kinds  of  bugs  ceased 
climbing,  and  came  down  from  the  grass  and 
flower-stalks,  to  bow  humbly  before  the 
train  of  Lord  Long-legs.  Bug  mothers 
hastened,  with  their  bug  babies  on  their 
backs,  down  to  the  road,  and,  squatting 
down,  taught  their  little  nits  to  put  their 
fore-paws  politely  together  and  bow  down 
on  their  front  knees.  No  one  dared  to  speak 
out  loud  ;  but  the  mole-cricket,  nudging  his 
fellow  under  the  wing,  said:  "Just  look  at 
that  green  Mantis  !  He  looks  as  though  '  he 
would  rush  out  with  a  battle-ax  on  his 
shoulder  to  meet  a  chariot.'  See  how  he 
ogles  his  fellow  !  " 


246  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

"  Yes ;  and  just  behold  that  bandy-legged 
hopper,  will  you  ?  I  could  walk  better  than 
that  myself,"  said  the  other. 

"'Sh!"  said  the  mole-cricket.  "Here 
comes  the  palanquin." 

Everybody  now  cast  a  squint  up  under 
their  eyebrows,  and  watched  the  palanquin 
go  by.  It  was  made  of  delicately-woven 
striped  grass,  bound  with  bamboo  threads, 
lacquered,  and  finished  with  curtains  of 
gauze,  made  of  dragon-fly  wings,  through 
which  Lord  Long-legs  could  peep.  It  was 
borne  on  the  shoulders  of  four  stalwart  hop- 
pers, who,  carrying  rest-poles  of  grass, 
trudged  along,  with  much  sweat  and  fuss 
and  wiping  of  their  foreheads,  stopping  oc- 
casionally to  change  shoulders.  At  their 
side  walked  a  body-guard  of  eight  hoppers, 
armed  with  pistils,  and  having  side-arms  of 
sword-grass.    They  were  also  provided  with 


LORD  LONG-LEGS'  PROCESSION.  247 

poison-shoots,  in  case  of  trouble.  Other 
bearers  followed,  keeping  step  and  carrying 
the  regalia,  consisting  of  crysanthemum 
stalks  and  blossoms.  Then  followed,  in 
double  rank,  a  long  string  of  wrasps,  who 
were  for  show  and  nothing  more.  Between 
them,  inside,  carefully  saddled,  bridled,  and 
in  full  housings,  was  a  horse-fly,  led  by  a 
snail,  to  keep  the  restive  animal  from  going 
at  a  too  rapid  pace. 

Three  big,  gawky  helmet-headed  beetles 
next  followed,  bearing  rice-sprouts,  with 
full  heads  of  rice. 

"  Oh !  oh  !  look  there  !"  cried  a  little  grub 
at  the  side  of  the  road.  "  See  the  little 
grasshopper  riding  on  his  father's  back  !" 

"  Hai,"  said  Mother  Butterfly,  putting  one 
paw  on  her  baby's  neck,  for  fear  of  being 
arrested  for  making  a  noise. 


248  JAPANESE  FAIRY     WORLD. 

It  was  so.  The  little  'hopper,  tired  of 
long  walking,  had  climbed  on  his  father's 
back  for  a  ride,  holding  on  by  the  feelers 
and  seeing  everything. 

Finally,  toward  the  end  of  the  procession, 
was  a  great  crowd  of  common  'hoppers, 
beetles,  and  bugs  of  all  sorts,  carrying  the 
presents  to  be  given  in  Yedo,  and  the 
clothing,  food  and  utensils  for  the  use  of 
Lord  Long-legs  on  the  journey;  for  the 
hotels  were  sometimes  very  poor  on  the 
Tokaido  high  road,  and  the  daimio  liked 
his  comforts.  Besides,  it  was  necessary  for 
Lord  Long-legs  to  travel  with  proper  dig- 
nity, as  became  a  daimio.  His  messengers 
always  went  before  and  engaged  lodging- 
places,  as  the  fleas,  spiders  aud  mosquitoes 
from  other  localities,  who  traveled  up  and 
down  the  great  high  road,  sometimes  occu- 
pied the  places  first.    The  procession  wound 


LORD  LONG-LEGS'  PROCESSION.  249 

up  by  the  rear-guard  of  Daddy  Long-legs, 
who  prevented  any  insult  or  disrespect  from 
the  rabble.  After  the  line  had  passed,  in- 
sects could  cross  the  road,  traffic  and  travel 
were  resumed,  and  the  road  was  cleared, 
while  the  procession  faded  from  view  in  the 
distance. 


KIYOHIME,     OR    THE     POWER     OP 
LOVE. 


;UIET  AND  SHADY  was  the  spot 
in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  love- 
liest valley  landscapes  in  the 
empire,  near  the  banks  of  the 
Hidaka  river,  where  stood  the  tea-house 
kept  by  one  Kojima.  It  was  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  glorious  mountains,  ever  robed 
with  deep  forests,  silver-threaded  with 
flashing  water-falls,  to  which  the  lovers  of 
nature  paid  many  a  visit,  and  in  which 
poets  were  inspired  to  write  stanzas  in 
praise  of  the  white  foam  and  the  twinkling 
streamlets.  Here  the  bonzes  loved  to  muse 
and  meditate,  and   anon  merry  picnic  par- 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE.  251 

ties  spread  their  mats,  looped  their  canvas 
screens,  and  feasted  outof  nests  of  lacquered 
boxes,  drinking  the  amber  sake  from  cups 
no  larger  nor  thicker  than  an  egg-shell, 
while  the  sound  of  guitar  and  drum  kept 
time  to  dance  and  song. 

The  garden  of  the  tea-house  was  as  lovely 
a  piece  of  art  as  the  florist's  cunning  could 
produce.  Those  who  emerged  from  the 
deep  woods  of  the  lofty  hill  called  the 
Dragon's  Claw,  could  see  in  the  tea-house 
garden  a  living  copy  of  the  landscape  before 
them.  There  were  mimic  mountains,  (ten 
feet  high),  and  miniature  hills  veined  by  a 
tiny,  path  with  dwarfed  pine  groves,  and 
tiny  bamboo  clumps,  and  a  patch  of  grass  for 
meadow,  and  a  valley  just  like  the  great 
gully  of  the  mountains,  only  a  thousand 
times  smaller,  and  but  twenty  feet  long.  So 
perfect    was  the  imitation    that   even   the 


252  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

miniature  irrigated  rice-fields,  each  no  larger 
than  a  checker-board,  were  in  full  sprout. 
To  make  this  little  gem  of  nature  in  art 
complete,  there  fell  from  over  a  rock  at  one 
end  a  lovely  little  waterfall  two  feet  high, 
which  after  an  angry  splash  over  the  stones, 
rolled  on  over  an  absurdly  small  beech,  all 
white-sanded  and  pebbled,  threading  its 
silver  way  beyond,  until  lost  in  fringes  of 
lilies  and  aquatic  plants.  In  one  broad  space 
imitating  a  lake,  was  a  lotus  pond,  lined 
with  iris,  in  which  the  fins  of  gold  fish 
and  silver  •  carp  flashed  in  the  sunbeams. 
Here  and  there  the  nose  of  a  tortoise  pro- 
truded, while  on  a  rugged  rock  sat  an  old 
grandfather  surveying  the  scene  with  one  or 
two  of  his  grand-children  asleep  on  his  shell 
and  sunning  themselves. 

The  fame  of  the  tea-house,  its  excellent 
fare,  and  special  delicacy  of  its  mountain 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE*  253 

trout,  sugar-jelly  and  well-flavored  rice- 
cakes,  drew  hundreds  of  visitors,  especially 
poetry-parties,  and  lovers  of  grand  scenery. 

Just  across  the  river,  which  was  visible 
from  the  verandah  of  the  tea-house,  stood 
the  lofty  firs  that  surrounded  the  temple  of 
the  Tendai  Buddhists.  Hard  by  was  the 
pagoda,  which  painted  red  peeped  between 
the  trees.  A  long  row  of  paper-windowed 
and  tile-roofed  dwellings  to  the  right  mnde 
up  the  monastery,  in  which  a  snowy  eye- 
browed  but  rosy-faced  old  abbot  and  some 
twenty  bonzes  dwelt,  all  shaven-faced  and 
shaven-pated,  in  crape  robes  and  straw 
sandals,  their  only  food  being  water  and 
vegetables. 

Not  the  least  noticeable  of  the  array  of 
stone  lanterns,  and  bronze  images  with 
aureoles  round  their  heads,  and  incense- 
burners  and  holy   water  tanks,  and  dragon 


254  Japanese  fairy  would* 

spouts,  was  the  belfry,  which  stood  on  & 
stone  platform.  Under  its  roof  hung  the 
massive  bronze  boll  ten  feet  high,  which., 
when  struck  with  a  suspended  log  like  a 
trip-hammer,  boomed  solemnly  over  the 
valley  and  flooded  three  leagues  of  space 
with  the  melody  which  died  away  as  sweet-4 
ly  as  an  infant  falling  in  slumber.  This 
mighty  bell  was  six  inches  thick  and  weighed 
Several  tons. 

In  describing  the  tea-house  across  the 
river,  the  story  of  its  sweetest  charm,  and 
of  its  garden  the  fairest  flower  must  not  be 
left  untold.  /^JiyoT^ke  host's  daughter,  was 
a  lovely  maMe^ofTmt  eighteen,  as  graceful 
as  the  bamboo  reed  swaying  in  the  breeze 
of  a  moonlit  summer's  eve,  and  as  pretty  as 
the  blossoms  of  the  cherry-tree.  Far  and 
wide  floated  the  fame  of  Kiyo,  like  the 
fragrance  of  the  white  lilies  of  Ibuki,  when 


'ME  POWER  OF  LOVH.  2S5 

the  wind  sweeping  down  the  mountain 
heights,  comes  perfume-laden  to  the  traveler. 

As  she  busied  herself  about  the  garden, 
or  as  her  white  socks  slipped  over  the  mat-* 
laid  floor,  she  was  the  picture  of  grace  itself. 
When  at  twilight,  with  her  own  hands,  she 
lighted  the  gay  lanterns  that  hung  in  festoons 
along  the  eaves  of  the  tea-house  above  the 
verandah,  her  bright  eyes  sparkling,  her  red 
petticoats  half  visible  through  her  semi- 
transparent  crape  robe,  she  made  many  a 
young  man's  heart  glow  with  a  strange  new 
feeling,  or  burn  with  pangs  of  jealousy. 

Among  the  priests  that  often  passed  by 
the  tea-house  on  their  way  to  the  monastery* 
were  some  who  were  young  and  handsome. 

It  was  the  rule  of  the  monastery  that  none 
of  the  bonzes  should  drink  sake  (wine)  eat 
fish  or  meat,  or  even  stop  at  the  tea-houses 
to  talk  with  women,     But  one  young  bonze 


256  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD* 

named  u  Lift- the-Kettle  "  (after  a  passage  in 
the  Sanscrit  classics)  had  rigidly  kept  the 
rules.  Fish  had  never  passed  his  mouth; 
and  as  for  sake,  he  did  not  know  even  its 
taste*  He  was  very  studious  and  diligent. 
Every  day  he  learned  ten  new  Chinese 
characters.  He  had  already  read  several  of 
the  sacred  sutras,  had  made  a  good  begin- 
ning in  Sanskrit,  knew  the  name  of  every 
idol  in  the  temple  of  the  3,333  images  in 
Kioto,  had  twice  visited  the  sacred  shrine  , 
of  the  Capital,  and  had  uttered  the  prayer 
"Namu  mio  ho  ren  ge  kio,"  ("Glory  be  to 
the  sacred  lotus  of  the  law"),  counting  it  on 
his  rosary,  five  hundred  thousand  times. 
For  sanctity  and  learning  he  had  no  peer 
among  the  young  neophytes  of  the  bonzerie. 
Alas  for  "Lift-the  Kettle!".  One  day, 
after  returning  from  a  visit  to  a  famous 
shrine  in  the  Kuanto,  (Eastern  Japan),  as  he 


TOE  POWER  OF  LOVE.  257 

Was  passing  the  tea-house,  he  caught  sight 
of  Kiyohime,  (the  "lady"  or  "princess" 
Kiyo),  and  from  that  moment  his  pain  of 
heart  began.  He  returned  to  his  bed  of 
mats,  but  not  to  sleep.  For  days  he  "tried 
to  stifle  his  passion,  but  his  heart  only 
smouldered  away  like  an  incense-stick. 

Before  many  days  he  made  a  pretext  for 
again  passing  the  house.  Hopelessly  in  love, 
without  waiting  many  days  he  stopped  and 
entered  the  tea-house. 

His  call  for  refreshments  was  answered 
by  Kiyohime  herself! 

As  fire  kindles  fire,  so  priest  and  maiden 
were  now  consumed  in  one  flame  of  love. 
To  shorten  a  long  story, %i  Lift-the-Kettle  " 
visited  the  inn  oftener  and  oftener,  even 
stealing  out  at  night  to  cross  the  river  and 
spend  the  silent  hours  with  his  love. 


258  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WORLD. 

So  passed  several  months,  when  suddenly 
a  change  come  over  the  young  bonze.  His 
conscience  began  to  trouble  him  for  break- 
ing his  vows.  In  the  terrible  conflict  be- 
tween principle  and  passion,  the  soul  of  the 
priest  was  tossed  to  and  fro  like  the  feath- 
ered seed-ball  of  a  shuttlecock. 
f  But  conscience  was  the  stronger,  and 
/won. 

He  resolved  to  drown  his  love  and  break 
off  his  connection  with  the  girl.  To  do  it 
suddenly,  •  would  bring  grief  to  her  and  a 
scandal  both  on  her  family  and  the  monas- 
tery. He  must  do  it  gradually  to  succeed 
at  all. 

Ah !  how  quickly  does  the  sensitive  love- 
plant  know  the  finger-tip  touch  of  cooling 
passion !  How  quickly  falls  the  silver 
column  in  the  crystal  tube,  at  the  first  breath 
of  the  heart's  chill  even  though   the  word^ 


THE  POWER  OP  LOVE.  259 

on  the  lip  are  warm!  Kiyohime  marked  1 
the  ebbing  tide  of  her  lover's  regard,  and  \ 
then  a  terrible  resolve  of  evil  took  posses- 
sion of  her  soul.  Fr >m  that  time  forth,  sEe\ 
ceased  to  be  a  pure  and  innocent  and  gentle 
virgin.  Though  still  in  maiden  form  and 
guise,  she  was  at  heart  a  fox,  and  as  to  her 
nature  she  might  as  well  have  worn  the 
bushy  tail  of  the  sly  deceiver.  She  resolved 
to  win  over  her  lover,  by  her  importunities 
and  failing  in  this,  to  destroy  him  by  sorcery. 
One  night  she  sat  up  until  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  then,  arrayed  only  in  a 
white  robe,  she  went  out  to  a  secluded  part 
of  the  mountain  where  in  a  lonely  shrine 
stood  a  hideous  scowling  image  ot  Fudo 
who  holds  the  sword  of  vengeance  and  sits 
clothed  in  fire.  There  she  called  upon  the 
god  to  change  her  lover's  heart  or  else  de- 
stroy him. 


260  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD, 

Thence,  with  her  head  shaking,  and  eyes 
glittering  with  anger  like  the  orbs  of  a 
serpent,  she  hastened  to  the  shrine  of  Kam- 
pira,  whose  servants  are  the  long-nosed 
sprites,  who  have  the  power  of  magic  and 
of  teaching  sorcery.  Standing  in  front  of 
the  portal  she  saw  it  hung  with  votive  tab- 
lets, locks  of  hair,  teeth,  various  tokens 
of  vows,  pledges  and  marks  of  sacrifice? 
which  the  devotees  of  the  god  had  hung  up. 
There,  in  the  cold  night  air  she  asked  for 
the  power  of  sorcery,  that  she  might  be  able 
at  will  to  transform  herself  into  the  terrible 
/#, — the  awful  dragon- serpent  whose  engine 
coils  are  able  to  crack  bones,  crush  rocks^ 
melt  iron  or  root  up  trees,  and  which  are 
long  enough  to  wind  round  a  mountain. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  tell  how  this  once 
pure  and  happy  maiden,  now  turned  to  an 
avenging  demon    went  out  nightly  on  the 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE.  261 

lonely  mountains  to  practice  the  arts  of 
sorcery.  The  mountain-sprites  were  her 
teachers,  and  she  learned  so  diligently  that 
the  chief  goblin  at  last  told  her  she  would 
be  able,  without  fail,  to  transform  herself 
when  she  wished. 

The  dreadful  moment  was  soon  to  come. 
The  visits  of  the  once  lover-priest  gradually 
became  fewer  and  fewer,  and  were  no  longer 
tender  hours  of  love,  but  were  on  his  part 
formal  interviews,  while  Kiyohime  became 
more  importunate  than  ever.  Tears  and 
pleadings  were  alike  useless,  and  finally  one 
night  as  he  was  taking  leave,  the  bonze  told 
the  maid  that  he  had  paid  his  last  visit. 
Kiyohime  then  utterly  forgetting  all  woman- 
ly delicacy,  became  so  urgent  that  the  bonze 
tore  himself  away  and  fled  across  the  river. 
He   had    seen    the   terrible    gleam   in    the 


262  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

maiden's  eyes,  and  now  terribly  frightened, 
hid  himself  under  the  great  temple  bell. 

Forthwith  Kiyohime,  seeing  the  awful 
moment  had  come,  pronounced  the  spell  of 
incantation  taught  her  by  the  mountain 
spirit,  and  raised  her  T-shaped  wand.  In 
a  moment  her  fair  head  and  lovely  face, 
body,  limbs  and  feet  lengthened  out,  disap- 
peared, or  became  demon-like,  and  a  fire- 
darting,  hissing-tongued  serpent,  with  eyes 
like  moons  trailed  over  the  ground  towards 
the  temple,  swam  the  river,  and  scenting 
out  the  track  of  the  fugitive,  entered  the 
belfry,  cracking  the  supporting  columns 
made  of  whole  tree-trunks  into  a  mass  of 
ruins,  while  the  bell  fell  to  the  earth  with 
the  cowering  victim  inside. 

Then  b^gan  the  winding  of  the  terrible 
coils  round  and  round  the  metal,  as  with  her 
wand  of  sorcery  in  her  hands,  she  mounted 


s 

H 
g 


o 

03 


■-■'..A 


*$& 


THE  POWER  OF  LOVE.  263 

the  bell.  The  glistening  scales,  hard  as 
iron,  struck  off  sparks  as  the  pressure  in- 
creased. Tighter  and  tighter  they  were 
drawn,  till  the  heat  of  the  friction  consumed 
the  timbers  and  made  the  metal  glow  hot 
like  fire. 

Vain  was  the  prayer  of  priest,  or  spell  of 
rosary,  as  the  bonzes  piteously  besought 
great  Buddha  to  destroy  the  demon.  Hot- 
ter and  hotter  grew  the  mass,  until  the 
ponderous  metal  melted  down  into  a  hissing 
pool  of  scintillating  molten  bronze;  and 
soon,  man  within  and  serpent  without,  tim- 
ber and  tiles  and  ropes  were  nought  but  a 
few  handfuls  of  white  ashes. 


THE  FISHERMAN  AND  THE  MOON- 
MAIDEN. 


,  EARLY  and  lustrous  white,  like  a 
cloud  in  the  far-off  blue  sky, 
seemed  the  floating  figure  of  the 
moon-maiden,  as  she  flew  to 
earth.  She  was  one  of  the  fifteen 
glistening  virgins  that  wait  attendent  upon 
the  moon  in  her  chambers  in  the  sky.  Look- 
ing down  from  her  high  home  to  the  earth, 
she  became  enraptured  with  the  glorious 
scenery  of  Suruga's  ocean  shore,  and  longed 
for  a  bath  in  the  blue  waters  of  the  sea. 

So  this  fairy  maid  sped  to  the  earth  one 
morning  early,  when  the  moon  having  shone 
through  the  night  was  about  to  retire  for 


THE  MOON-MAIDEN.  265 

the  day.  The  sun  was  rising  bright  and  red 
over  the  eastern  seas,  flushing  the  moun- 
tains and  purpling  the  valleys.  Out  amid 
the  sparkling  waves  the  ships  sailed  toward 
the  sun,  and  the  fishermen  cast  their  nets. 

It  was  in  early  spring,  when  the  air  was 
full  of  the  fragrance  of  plum  blossoms,  and 
the  zephyrs  blew  so  softly  that  scarce  a 
bamboo  leaf  quivered,  or  a  wave  lapsed  with 
sound  on  the  silvery  shore. 

The  moon-maiden  was  so  charmed  with 
the  scenery  of  earth,  that  she  longed  to  lin- 
ger above  it  to  gaze  tranquilly.  Floating 
slowly  through  the  air,  she  directed  her 
course  to  the  pine  groves  that  fringe  the 
strand  near  Cape  Miwo.  Lying  at  the  base 
of  Fuji  mountain,  whose  snowy  crown  glis- 
tens above,  fronting  the  ocean,  whose  blue 
plain  undulates  in  liquid  glory  till  it  meets 
the  bending  sky,  the  scenery  of  Miwo  is  re- 


266        .  JAPANESE  FAIRY     WORLD. 

nowned  everywhere  under  the  whole  heav- 
ens, but  especially  in  the  land  which  the 
mikado's  reign  blesses  with  peace. 

Full  of  happiness,  the  fairy  maiden  played 
sweet  music  from  her  flute,  until  the  air  was 
full  of  it,  and  it  sounded  to  the  dweller  on 
earth  like  the  sweet  falling  of  rain  drops  on 
the  thirsty  ground.  Her  body  shed  sweet 
fragrance  through  the  air,  and  flowers  fell 
from  her  robes  as  she  passed.  Though  none 
saw  her  torm,  all  wondered. 

Arriving  over  a  charming  spot  on  the  sea 
shore,  she  descended  to  the  strand,  and 
stood  at  the  foot  of  a  pine  tree.  She  laid 
her  musical  instrument  on  a  rock  near  by, 
and  taking  off  her  wings  and  feathered  suit 
hung  them  carefully  on  the  pine  tree  bough. 
Then  she  strolled  off  along  the  shore  to  dip 
her  shining  feet  in  the  curling  waves. 

Picking  up  some  shells,  she  wondered  with 


THE  MOON-MAIDEN.  267 

innocent  joy  at  the  rich  tints,  which  seemed 
more  beautiful  than  any  color  in  the  moon- 
world.  With  one,  a  large  smooth  scallop, 
she  was  particularly  pleased  ;  for  inside  one 
valve  was  a  yellow  disc,  and  on  its  mate 
was  a  white  one. 

"  How  strange,"  said  she.  "  Here  is  the 
sun,  and  there  is  the  moon.  I  shall  call  this 
the  Tsuki-hi-kai — '  sun  and  moonshelP,''  and 
she  put  them  in  her  girdle. 

It  chanced  that  near  the  edge  of  the  pine 
grove,  not  far  away,  there  dwelt  alone  fish- 
erman, who,  coming  down  to  the  shore, 
caught  a  whiff  of  sweet  perfume  such  as  had 
never  before  delighted  his  nostrils.  What 
could  it  be  ?  The  spring  zephyrs,  blowing 
from  the  west,  seemed  laden  with  the  sweet 
odor. 

Curiosity  prompted  him  to  seek  the  cause. 
He  walked  toward  the  pine  tree,  and  look- 


268  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

ing  up,  caught  sight  of  the  feathery  suit  of 
wings.  Oh  !  how  his  eyes  sparkled.  He 
danced  for  joy,  and  taking  down  the  robe 
carried  it  to  his  neighbors.  All  were  de- 
lighted, and  one  old  man  said  that  the  fairy 
must  herself  be  near  by.  He  advised  the 
man  to  seek  until  he  found  her. 

So  with  feathered  robe  in  hand  the  fisher- 
man went  out  again  to  the  strand,  and  took 
his  place  near  the  pine  tree.  He  had  not 
waited  long  before  a  lovely  being,  with  rose- 
tinted  white  skin  and  of  perfect  form,  ap- 
peared. 

"  Please  good  sir,  give  me  back  my  leath- 
ered robe,"  said  she,  in  a  sad  voice  of  liquid 
sweetness,  though  she  seemed  greatly  fright- 
ened. 

"No,  I  must  keep  it  as  a  sacred  treasure, 
a  relic  from  a  heavenly  visitor,  and  dedicate 
it  in  the  shrine  yonder  as  a  memorial  of  an 
angel's  visit"  said  the  fisherman. 


fliB  MOON-MAXDM;  269 

u  Oh,  wicked  man,  what  a  wretched  and 
impious  thing  to  rob  an  inhabitant  of  heaven 
of  the  robe  by  which  she  moves.  How  can 
I  fly  back  to  my  home  again  "  ? 

"  Give  me  your  wings,  oh  ye  wild  geese 
that  fly  across  the  face  of  the  moon,  and  on 
tireless  pinions  seek  the  icy  shores  in  spring 
time,  and  soar  unwearied  homeward  in 
autumn.     Lend  me  your  wings." 

But  the  wild  geese  overhead  only  whirred 
and  screamed,  and  bit  their  sprays  of  pine 
which  they  carried  in  their  mouth. 

"  Oh,  ye  circling  gulls,  lend  me  but  for  a 
day  your  downy  wings.  I  am  prisoner  here  " 
cried  the  weeping  fairy. 

But  the  graceful  gulls  hovering  for  a 
moment  swept  on  in  widening  circles  out 
to  farther  sea, 

"Oil,  breezes  of  the  air  which  blow 
whither  ye  list !     Oh,  tide  of  ocean  which 


270  Japanese  fairy  World. 

ebbs  and  flows  at  will !     Ye  may  move  all* 
but  I  am  prisoner  here,  devoid  of  motion 
Oh,  good  sir  have  pity  and  give  me  back 
my  wings,"  cried  the  moon-maiden,  pressing 
her  hands  together  in  grief. 

The  fisher's  heart  was  touched  by  the 
pathos  of  her  voice  and  the  glittering  of  her 
tears. 

"  I'll  give  back  your  winged-robe  if  you'll 
dance  and  make  music  for  me  "  said  he. 

"  Oh,  yes,  good  sir,  I  will  dance  and  make 
music,  but  first  let  me  put  on  my  feather- 
robe  for  without  it  I  have  no  power  of  mo- 
tion." 

"Oh,  yes"  said  the  suspicious  mortal,  "If 
I  give  you  back  your  wings  you'll  fly  straight 
to  heaven." 

"  What !  can  you  not  believe  the  word  of 
a  heavenly  being,  without  doubting  ?  Trust 
me  in  good  faith  and  you'll  lose  nothing." 


ME  MOON-MAIBIlM.  271 

Then  with  shamed  face  the  fisherman 
handed  to  the  moon-maiden  her  feathered 
robe,  which  she  donned  and  began  to  dance^ 
She  poured  out  such  sweet  strains  from  her 
upright  flute  that  with  eye  and  ear  full  of 
rapture,  the  fisherman  imagined  himself  in 
heaven.  Then  she  sang  a  sweet  song  in 
which  she  described  the  delights  of  life  in 
the  moon  and  the  pleasure  of  celestial  resi-5 
dence. 

The  fisherman  was  so  overjoyed  that  he 
longed  to  detain  the  fairy,  He  begged  her 
to  dwell  with  him  on  earth,  but  in  vain. 
As  he  looked,  he  saw  her  rising.  A  fresh 
breeze,  rippling  the  face  of  the  sea,  now 
sprang  up,  and  wafted  the  pearly  maiden 
over  the  pine-clad  hills  and  past  Fuji  moun- 
tain. All  the  time  sweet  music  rained 
through  the  air  until,  as  the  fisherman 
strained   his   eyes  toward   the    fresh-fallen 


272  JAPANESE  Mmf  WoiiLi), 

snow  on  Fuji's  crest,  he  could  no  longer  dis^ 
tinguish  the  moon-maiden  from  the  fleecy 
clouds  that  filled  the  thin  air. 

Pondering  long  upon  the  marvelous  ap- 
parition, the  fisherman  resolved  to  mark  the 
spot  where  tiue  fairy  first  descended  to  earth. 
So  he  prevailed  upou  the  simple  villiagers 
to  build  a  railing  of  stone  around  the  now 
sacred  pine. 

Daily  they  garlanded  the  old  trunk  with  fes-1 
toons  of  tasseled  and  twisted  rice-straw. 
Long  after,  when  by  the  storms  of  centuries 
the  old  pine,  in  spite  of  bandages  and 
crutches,  and  tired  of  wrestling  with  the 
blast,  fell  down  like  an  old  man,  to  rise  no 
more*  a  grateful  posterity  cleared  the  space 
and  built  the  shrine  of  Miwo,  which  still 
dots  with  its  sacred  enclosure  the  strand  of 
Suruga  on  which  the  fairy  danced* 


THE  JEWELS  OP  THE  EBBING  AND 
THE  FLOWING  TIDE. 


HIUAI  was  the  fourteenth  mikado 
of  the  Land  of  the  Gods  (Japan). 
His  wife,  the  empress  was  named 
Jingu,  or  Godlike  Exploit.  She 
was  a  wise  and  discreet  lady  and 
assisted  her  husband  to  govern  his  domin- 
ions. When  a  great  rebellion  broke  out  in 
the  south  island  called  Kiushiu,  the  mikado 
marched  his  army  against  the  rebels.  The 
empress  went  with  him  and  lived  in  the 
camp.  One  night,  as  she  lay  asleep  in  her 
tent,  she  dreamed  that  a  heavenly  being  ap- 
peared to  her  and  told  her  of  a  wonderful 

*9 


274  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

land  in  the  west,  full  of  gold,  silver,  jewels? 
silks  and  precious  stones.  The  heavenly 
messenger  told  her  if  she  would  invade  this 
country  she  would  succeed,  and  all  its  spoil 
would  be  hers,  for  herself  and  Japan. 

u  Conquer  Corea  "  !  said  the  radiant  being, 
as  she  floated  away  on  a  purple  cloud. 

In  the  morning  the  empress  told  her  hus- 
band of  her  dream,  and  advised  him  to  set 
out  to  invade  the  rich  land.  But  he  paid 
no  attention  of  her.  When  she  insisted,  in 
order  to  satisfy  her,  he  climbed  up  a  high 
mountain,  and  looking  far  away  towards  the 
setting  sun,  saw  no  land  thither,  not  even 
mountain  peaks.  So,  believing  that  there 
.  was  no  country  in  that  direction  he  descend- 
ed, and  angrily  refused  to  set  out  on  the 
expedition.  Shortly  after,  in  a  battle  with 
the  rebels  the  mikado  was  shot  dead  with 
an  arrow. 


ME   TIDE   JEWELS.  275 

The  generals  and  captains  of  the  host 
then  declared  their  loyalty  to  the  empress 
as  the  sole  ruler  of  Japan.  She,  now  hav- 
ing the  power,  resolved  to  carry  out  her 
darling  plan  of  invading  Corea.  She  in- 
voked all  the  kami  or  gods  together,  from 
the  mountains,  rivers  and  plains  to  get  their 
advice  and  help.  All  came  at  her  call.  The 
kami  of  the  mountains  gave  her  timber  and 
Iron  for  her  ships  ;  the  kami  of  the  fields 
presented  rice  and  grain  for  provisions ;  the 
kami  of  the  grasses  gave  her  hemp  for  cord- 
age ;  and  the  kami  of  the  winds  promised 
to  open  his  bag  and  let  out  his  breezes  to 
fill  her  sails  toward  Corea.  All  came  except 
Isora,  the  kami  of  the  sea  shore.  Again 
she  called  for  him  and  sat  up  waiting  all 
night  with  torches  burning,  invoking  him 
to  appear. 

Now,  Isora    was   a   lazy   fellow,  always 


276  JAPANESE    FAIRY   WOKLB, 

slovenly  and  ill-dressed,  and  when  at  last  lie 
did  come,  instead  of  appearing  in  state  in 
splendid  robes,  he  rose  right  out  of  the  sea- 
bottom,  covered  with  mud  and  slime,  with 
shells  sticking  all  over  him  and  sea- weed 
clinging  to  his  hair.  He  gruffly  asked  what 
the  empress  wanted. 

"  Go  down  to  Riu  Gu  and  beg  his 
majesty  Kai  Riu  0,  the  Dragon  King  of  the 
World  Under  the  Sea,  to  give  me  the  two 
jewels  of  the  tides,"  said  the  imperial  lady. 

Now  among  the  treasures  in  the  palace  of 
the  Dragon  King  of  the  World  Under  the 
Sea  were  two  jewels  having  wondrous  power 
over  the  tides.  They  were  about  as  large 
as  apples,  but  shaped  like  apricots,  with 
three  rings  cut  near  the  top.  They  seemed 
to  be  of  crystal,  and  glistened  and  shot  out 
dazzling  rays  like  fire.  Indeed,  they  ap- 
peared to  seethe  and  glow  like  the  eye  of  a 


THE    TIDE    JEWELS.  277 

dragon,  or  the  white-hot  steel  of  the  sword- 
forger.  One  was  called  the  Jewel  of  the 
Flood-Tide,  and  the  other  the  Jewel  of  the 
Ebb-Tide.  Whoever  owned  them  had  the 
power  to  make  the  tides  instantly  rise  or 
fall  at  his  word,  to  make  the  dry  land  ap- 
pear, or  the  sea  overwhelm  it,  in  the  fillip 
of  a  finger. 

Isora  dived  with  a  dreadful  splash,  down, 
down  to  Riu  Gu,  and  straightway  presented 
himself  before  Kai  Riu  0.  In  the  name  of 
the  empress,  he  begged  for  the  two  tide- 
jewels. 

The  Dragon  King  agreed,  and  producing 
the  flaming  globes  from  his  casket,  placed 
them  on  a  huge  shell  and  handed  them  to 
Tsora,  who  brought  the  jewels  to  Jingu,  who 
placed  them  in  her  girdle. 

The  empress  now  prepared  her  fleet  for 
Corean    invasion.     Three    thousand  barges 


278  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

were  built  and  launched,  and  two  old  Kami 
with  long  streaming  gray  hair  and  wrinkled 
faces,  were  made  admirals.  Their  names 
were  SuwaDaimio  Jin  (Great  Illustrious, 
Spirit  of  Suwa)  and  Sumiyoshi,  Daimio  Jin, 
the  kami  who  lives  under  the  old  pine  tree 
at  Takasago,  and  presides  over  nuptial  cere- 
monies. 

The  fleet  sailed  in  the  tenth  month.  The 
hills  of  Hizen  soon  began  to  sink  below  the 
horizon,  but  no  sooner  were  they  out  of 
sight  of  land  than  a  great  storm  arose.  The 
ships  tossed  about,  and  began  to  butt  each 
other  like  bulls,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
the  fleet  would  be  driven  back ;  when  lo  I 
Kai  Riu  O  sent  shoals  of  huge  sea-monsters 
and  immense  fishes  that  bore  up  the  ships 
and  pushed  their  sterns  forward  with  their 
great  snouts.  The  shachihoko,  or  dragon- 
fishes,    taking  the    ship's    cables    in   their 


THE    TIDE    JEWELS.  279 

mouths  towed  them  forward,  until  the  storm 
ceased  and  the  ocean  was  calm.  Then  they 
plunged  dowrnwards  into  the  sea  and  disap- 
peared. 

The  mountains  of  Corea  now  rose  in  sight. 
Along  the  shore  were  gathered  the  Corean 
army.  Their  triangular  fringed  banners, 
inscribed  with  dragons,  flapped  in  the  breeze. 
As  soon  as  their  sentinels  caught  sight  of 
the  Japanese  fleet,  the  signal  \v  as  given,  and 
the  Corean  line  of  war  galleys  moved  gaily 
out  to  attack  the  Japanese. 

The  empress  posted  her  archers  in  the 
bows  of  her  ships  and  waited  for  the  enemy 
to  approach.  When  they  were  within  a 
few  hundred  swTord -lengths,  she  took  from 
her  girdle  the  Jewel  of  the  Ebbing  Tide 
and  cast  the  flashing  gem  into  the  sea.  It 
blazed  in  the  air  for  a  moment,  but  no  sooner 
did  it   touch  the  water,  than  instantly   the 


280  JAPANESE   FAIRY    WORLD. 

ocean  receded  from  under  the  Corean  vessels, 
and  left  them  stranded  on  dry  land.  The 
Coreans,  thinking  it  was  a  tidal  wave,  and 
that  the  Japanese  ships  were  likewise  help- 
less in  the  undertow,  leaped  out  of  their 
galleys  and  rushed  over  the  sand,  and  on  to 
the  attack.  With  shouting  and  drawn 
swords  their  aspect  was  terrible.  When 
within  range  of  the  arrows,  the  Japanese 
bowmen  opened  volleys  of  double-headed, 
or  triple-pronged  arrows  on  the  Coreans, 
and  killed  hundreds. 

But  on  they  rushed,  until  near  the  Japanese 
ships,  when  the  empress  taking  out  the 
Flood-Tide  Jewel,  cast  it  in  the  sea.  In  a 
snap  of  the  finger,  the  ocean  rolled  up  into 
a  wave  many  tens  of  feet  high  and  engulphed 
the  Corean  army,  drowning  them  almost  to 
a  man.  Only  a  few  were  left  out  of  the  ten 
thousand.     The  warriors  in  their  iron  armor 


THE    TIDE    JEWELS.  281 

sank  dead  in  the  boiling  waves,  or  were  cast 
along  the  shore  like  logs.  The  Japanese 
army  landed  safely,  and  easily  conquered 
the  country.  The  king  of  Corea  surrendered 
and  gave  his  bales  of  silk,  jewels,  mirrors, 
books,  pictures,  robes,  tiger  skins,  and 
treasures  of  gold  and  silver  to  the  empress. 
The  booty  was  loaded  on  eighty  ships,  and 
the  Japanese  army  returned  in  triumph  to 
their  native  country. 


KAI  RIU  0,  THE  DRAGON  KING  OF 
THE  WORLD  UNDER  THE  SEA. 


OON  AFTER  her  arrival  at  home, 
the  empress  Jingu  gave  birth  to 
a  son,  whom  she  named  Ojin. 
He  was  one  of  the  fairest  chil- 
dren ever  born  of  an  imperial 
mother,  and  was  very  wise  and  wonderful 
even  when  an  infant.  He  was  a  great  favor- 
ite of  Takenouchi,  the  prime  minister  of  the 
empress  As  he  grew  up,  he  was  full  of  the 
Yamato  Damashii,  or  the  spirit  of  uncon- 
querable Japan. 

This  Takenouchi  was  a  very  venerable 
old  man,  who  was  said  to  be  three  hundred 
and  sixty  years  old.  He  had  been  the  coun- 


OJIN   AND    THE    DRAGON    KING.  283 

sellor  of  five  mikados.  He  was  very  tall, 
and  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  when  other  old 
men  were  bent  like  a  bow.  He  served 
as  a  general  in  war  and  a  civil  officer  in 
peace.  For  this  reason  he  always  kept  on  a 
suit  of  armor  under  his  long  satin  .and 
damask  court  robes.  He  wore  the  bear-skin 
shoes  and  the  tiger-skin  scabbard  which 
were  the  general's  badge  of  rank,  and  also 
the  high  cap  and  long  fringed  strap  hanging 
from  the  belt,  which  marked  the  court  noble. 
He  had  moustaches,  and  a  long  beard  fell 
over  his  breast  like  a  foaming  waterfall,  as 
white  as  the  snows  on  the  branches  of  the 
pine  trees  of  Ibuki  mountain. 

Now  the  empress,  as  well  as  Takenouchi, 
wished  the  imperial  infant  Ojin  to  live  long, 
be  wise  and  powerful,  become  a  mighty 
warrior,  be  invulnerable  in  battle,  and  to 
have  control  over  the  tides  and  the   ocean 


284  JAPANESE  FAIRY  WORLD. 

as  his  mother  once  had.  To  do  this  it  was 
necessary  to  get  back  the  Tide  Jewels. 

So  Takenouchi  took  the  infant  Ojin  on  his 
shoulders,  mounted  the  imperial  war-barge, 
whose  sails  were  of  gold-embroidered  silk, 
and  bade  his  rowers  put  out  to  sea.  Then 
standing  upright  on  the  deck,  he  called  on 
Kai  Riu  0  to  come  up  out  of  the  deep  and 
give  back  the  Tide  Jewels  to  Ojin. 

At  first  there  was  no  sign  on  the  waves 
that  Kai  Riu  0  heard.  The  green  sea  lay 
glassy  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  waves 
laughed  and  curled  above  the  sides  of  the 
boat.  Still  Takenouchi  listened  intently 
and  waited  reverently.  He  was  not  long  in 
suspense.  Looking  down  far  under  the 
sparkling  waves,  he  saw  the  head  and  fiery 
eyes  of  a  dragon  mounting  upward.  In- 
stinctively he  clutched  his  robe  with  his 
right   hand,  and  held  Ojin  tightly   on  his 


OJIN    AND    THE   DRAGON    KING.  285 

shoulder,  for  this  time  not  Isora,  hut  the 
terrible  Kai  Riu  0  himself  was  coming* 

What  a  great  honor !  The  sea-kings  ser- 
vant, Isora,  had  appeared  to  a  woman,  the 
empress  Jingu,  but  to  her  son,  the  Dragon 
King  of  the  World  Under  the  Sea  deigned 
to  come  in  person. 

The  waters  opened  ;  the  waves  rolled  up, 
curled,  rolled  into  wreaths  and  hooks  and 
drops  of  foam,  which  flecked  the  dark  green 
curves  with  silvery  bells.  First  appeared  a 
living  dragon  with  fire-darting  eyes,  long 
flickering  moustaches,  glittering  scales  of 
green  all  ruffled,  with  terrible  spines  erect, 
and  the  joints  of  the  fore-paws  curling  out 
jets  of  red  fire.  This  living  creature  was 
the  helmet  of  the  Sea  King.  Next  appeared 
the  face  of  awful  majesty  and  stern  mien,  as 
if  with  reluctant  condescension,  and  then 
the  jewel  robes  of  the  monarch,     Next  rose 


286  JAPANESE    FAIRY  WOttLD. 

into  view  a  huge  haliotis  shell,  in  which,  oil 
a  bed  of  rare  gems  from  the  deep  sea  floor* 
glistened,  blazed  and  flashed  the  two  Jewels 
of  the  Tides. 

Then  the  Dragon-King  spoke,  saying  : 
"  Quick,  take  this  casket,  I  deign  not  to 
Remain  long  in  this  upper  world  of  mortals. 
With  these  I  endow  the  imperial  prince  of 
the  Heavenly  line  of  the  mikados  of  the 
Divine  country,  He  shall  be  invulnerable 
in  battle.  He  shall  have  long  life.  To  him 
I  give  power  over  sea  and  land,  Of  this,  let 
these  Tide-Jewels  be  the  token." 

Hardly  were  these  words  uttered  when 
the  Dragon-King  disappeared  with  a 
tremendous  splash.  Takenouchi  standing 
erect  but  breathless  amid  the  crowd  of  rowers 
who,  crouching  at  the  boat's  bottom  had 
not  dared  so  much  as  to  lift  up  their  noses> 


OJIN   ANi)   9M   MAdON   KINO.  Wl 

Waited  a  moment,  and  then  gave  the  com- 
mand to  turn  the  prow  to  the  shore. 

Ojin  grew  up  and  became  a  great  warrior, 
invincible  in  battle  and  powerful  in  peace. 
He  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  eleven 
years  old,  and  was  next  to  the  last  of  the 
long  lived  mikados  of  Everlasting  Great 
Japan. 

To  this  day  Japanese  soldiers  honor  him 
as  the  patron  of  war,  and  pray  to  him  as  the 
ruler  of  battle. 

When  the  Buddhist  priests  came  to 
Japan  they  changed  his  name  to  Hachi- 
man  Dai  Bosatsu,  or  the  "  Great  Buddha 
of  the  Eight  Banners."  On  many  a  hill 
and  in  many  a  village  of  Japan  may 
still  be  seen  a  shrine  to  his  honor.  Often 
when  a  soldier  comes  back  from  war,  he 
will  hang  up  a  tablet  or  picture-frame,  on 


288  JAPANESE  FAIM    WORLD, 

which  is  carved  a  painting  or  picture  of  the 
two-edged  short  sword  like  that  which  Ojin 
carried.       Many  of  the    old    soldiers    who 
fought  in  armor  wore  a  little  silver  sworclof 
Ojin  set  as  a  frontlet  to  their  helmets,  for  a 
crest   of  honor.     On    gilded    or   lacquered 
Japanese  cabinets  and  shrines,  and  printed 
on  their  curious  old,  and  new    greenback 
paper  money,  are  seen  the  blazing  Jewels  of 
the  Tides.      On   their  gold  and  silver  coins 
the  coiled  dragon  clutches  in  his  claws    the 
Jewels    of  the    Ebbing    and  the    Flowing 
Tide.     One  of  the  iron-clad  war  ships  of  the 
imperial    Japanese    navy,  on    which  floats 
proudly  the  red  sun-banner  of  the  Empire 
of  the  Rising  Sun,  is  named  Kogo  (Empress) 
after  the  Amazon  empress  who  in  the  third 
century    carried    the    arms    of    the    Island 
Empire  into  the  main  land  of  Asia,  and  won 
victory  by  her  mastery  over  the  ebbing  and 
the  flowing  tides. 


THE  DRAGON  KING'S  GIFT  OF  THE  TIDE  JEWELS. 


•f&n*  THE 


v*S 


^ITBE.UTY 


THE  CREATION  OP  HEAVEN  AND 
EARTH. 


P  OLD  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth 
were  not  separated.  Land  and 
water,  solids  and  gases,  fire  and 
stone,  light  and  darkness  were 
mixed  together.  All  was  liquid 
and  turbid  chaos. 

Then  the  mighty  mass  began  to  move 
from  within.  The  lighter  particles  of  gas 
and  air  began  to  rise,  forming  the  sky  and 
heavens.  The  heavy  parts  sank  and  cohered , 
becoming  the  earth.  The  water  formed  the 
four  seas.  Then  there  appeared  something 
like  a  white  cloud  floating  between  heaven 

20 


290  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

aud  earth.     Out  of  this  came    forth   three 

beings The    Being    of    the    Middle    of 

Heaven,  The  High  August  Being,  and  The 
Majestic  Being.  These  three  "  hid  their 
bodies/' 

Out  of  the  warm  mould  of  the  earth  some- 
thing like  a  rush  sprouted  up.  It  was  clear 
and  bright  like  crystal.  Prom  this  rush- 
sprout  came  forth  a  being  whose  title  is 
"  The  Delightful  and  Honorable  Rush- 
Sprout."  Next  appeared  another  being  out 
of  the  buds  of  the  rush-sprout  whost-  name 
is  "  The  Honorable  Heaven-born/'  These 
five  beings  are  called  Cithe  heavenly  gods." 

Next  came  into  existence  four  pairs  of 
beings  viz. :  (1)  The  Being  Sprung  from  the 
First  Mud,  and  The  Being  of  the  Sand  and 
Mud  ;  (2)  The  Being  with  Hands  and  Feet 
Growing,  and  the  Being  Having  Breath  ;  (S) 
The  Male  Being,  and  the  Female  Being  at 


HEAVEN    AND    EARTH.  291 

the  Great  Place  (the  earth) ;  (4)  The  Being 
of  Complete  Perfection,  and  the  Being  who 
cried  out  "  Strange  and  Awful"  to  her  mate. 

Thus  the  last  pair  that  came  into  exis- 
tence were  the  first  man  and  woman  called 
Izanagi  and  Izanami. 

It  is  said  that  the  other  pairs  of  beings 
before  Izanagi  and  Izanami  were  only  their 
imperfect  forms  or  the  processes  through 
which  they  passed  before  arriving  at  per- 
fection. 

These  two  beings  lived  in  the  Heavens. 
The  world  was  not  yet  well  formed,  and  the 
soil  floated  about  like  a  fish  in  the  water, 
but  near  the  surface  ;  and  was  called  "  The 
Floating  Region."  The  sun,  earth  and  moon 
were  still  attached  to  each  other  like  a  head 
to  the  neck,  or  arms  to  the  body.  They 
were  little  by  little  separating,  the  parts 
joining  them  growing  thinner  and   thinner. 


292  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD, 

This  part,  like  an  isthmus,  was  called 
"Heaven's  Floating  Bridge/'  It  was  on 
this  bridge  that  Izanagi  and  Xzanami  were 
standing  when  they  saw  a  pair  of  wagtails 
cooing  and  billing  sweetly  together.  The 
heavenly  couple  were  so  delighted  with  the 
sight  that  they  began  to  imitate  the  birds. 
Thus  began  the  art  of  love,  which  mortals 
have  practiced  to  this  day. 

While  talking  together  on  this  Bridge  of 
Heaven,  they  began  to  wonder  if  there  was 
a  world  beneath  them.  They  looked  far 
down  upon  the  green  seas,  but  could  see 
nothing  !  Then  Izanagi  took  his  long  jew- 
eled spear  and  plunged  it  into  the  turbid 
mass,  turning  it  round  and  round.  As  he 
lifted  it  up,  the  drops  which  trickled  from 
it  hardened  into  earth  of  their  own  accord ; 
and  thus  dry  land  was  formed.  As  Izanagi 
was  cleansing  his  spear  the  lumps  of  muck 


HEAVEN  AND  EARTH.  293 

and  mud  which  had  adhered  to  it  flew  off 
into  space,  and  were  changed  into  stars  and 
comets. 

[It  is  said  that  by  turning  his  spear  round 
and  round,  Izanagi  set  the  Earth  revolving . 
in  daily  revolutions]. 

To  the  land  thus  formed,  they  gave  the 
name  of  "  The  Island  of  the  Congealed 
Drop,"  because  they  intended  to  create  a 
large  archipelago  and  wished  to  distinguish 
this  as  the  first  island.  They  descended 
from  Heaven  on  the  floating  bridge  and 
landed  on  the  island.  Izanagi  struck  his 
tall  spear  in  the  ground  making  it  the  axis 
of  the  world.  He  then  proceeded  to  build  a 
palace  around  the  spear  which  formed  the 
central  pillar.  [This  spot  was  formerly  at 
the  North  pole,  but  is  now  at  Eshima,  off' 
the  central  eastern  coast  of  Japan].  They 
then  resolved  to  walk  round  the  island  and 


291  JAPANESE    FAIRY    WORLD. 

examine  it.  This  done,  they  met  together. 
Izanami  cried  out,  "  What  a  loveiy  man  ! " 
But  Izanagi  rebuked  her  for  speaking  first, 
and  said  they  must  try  it  again.  Then  they 
walked  round  the  island  once  more.  When 
they  met,  Izanami  held  her  tongue  while 
Izanagi  said,  "  What  a  lovely  woman!  " 

Being  now  both  in  good  humor,  they  be- 
gan the  work  ot  creating  Japan.  The  first 
island  brought  up  out  of  the  water  was 
Awaji ;  and  then  the  main  island.  After 
that,  eight  large  islands  were  created, 
whence  comes  one  of  the  names  of  Japan, 
"  The  Empire  of  the  Eight  Great  Islands." 
Six  smaller  islands  were  also  produced.  The 
several  thousand  islets  which  make  up  the 
archipelago  of  Everlasting  Great  Japan  were 
formed  by  the  spontaneous  consolidation  of 
the  foam  of  the  sea. 

After  the   country  was   thus  formed  the 


HEAVEN    AND    EARTH.  295 

divine  pair  created  eight  millions  of  earthly 
gods  or  Kami,  and  the  ten  thousand  different 
things  on  the  earth.  Vegetation  sprang  up 
over  all  the  land,  which  was  however  still 
covered  with  mist.  So  Izanagi  created  with 
his  breath  the  two  gods,  male  and  female  of 
the  wind.  All  these  islands  are  the  children 
of  Izanagi  and  Izanami,  and  when  first  born 
were  small  and  feeble,  but  gradually  grew 
larger  and  larger,  attaining  their  present  size 
like  human  beings,  which  are  at  first  tiny 
infants. 

As  the  gradual  separation  of  the  land  and 
sea  went  on,  foreign  countries  were  formed 
by  the  congealing  of  the  foam  of  the  sea. 
The  god  of  fire  was  then  born  of  Izanami, 
his  mother.  This  god  often  got  very  angry 
at  any  one  who  used  unclean  fire.  Izanami 
then  created  by  herself  the  gods  of  metals, 
of  clay  and  of  fresh  water.     This  latter  was 


296  JAPANESE  FAIRY      WORLD. 

told  always  to  keep  the  god  of  fire  quiet, 
and  put  him  out  when  he  began  to  do  mis- 
chief. 

Izanagi  and  Izanami,  though  married  but 
a  short  time,  began  to  quarrel,  .for  Izanami 
had  once  told  her  husband  not  to  look  at 
her  when  she  hid  herself.  But  Izanagi  did 
not  do  what  she  requested,  but  intruded  on 
her  privacy  when  she  was  unwell,  and  stared 
at  her  when  she  wished  to  be  alone.  Izanami 
then  got  very  angry,  and  went  down  to  the 
lower  world  of  darkness,  and  disappeared. 

In  the  dark  world  under  the  earth  Izanami 
stayed  a  long  time,  and  after  long  waiting, 
Izanagi  went  after  her.  In  the  darkness  of 
the  under-world  he  was  horrified  at  what  he 
saw,  and  leaving  his  consort  below,  tried  to 
escape  to  the  earth  again. 

In  his  struggles  several  gods  were  created, 
one  of  them  coming  out  of  his  staff.     When 


HEAVEN    AND    EARTH.  297 

he  got  up  to  daylight,  he  secured  a  large  rock 
to  close  up  the  hole  in  the  earth.  Turning 
this  rock  into  a  god,  he  commanded  him  to 
watch  the  place.  He  then  rushed  into  the 
sea  and  continued  washing  for  a  long  time 
to  purify  himself.  In  blowing  out  from  his 
lungs  the  polluted  air  inhaled  in  the  Under- 
world, the  two  evil  gods  sprang  forth  from 
his  breath.  As  these  would  commit  great 
harm  and  wickedness,  Izanagi  created  two 
other  gods  to  correct  their  evil.  But  when 
he  had  washed  his  eyes  and  could  see  clearly 
again,  there  sprang  out  two  precious  and 
lovely  beings  ;  one  from  his  left  eye,  being  a 
rare  and  glistening  maiden,  whom  he  after- 
wards named  Ama  Terasu,  or  "  The  Heaven 
Illuminating  Spirit/'  From  his  right  eye 
appeared  Susa  no  0,  the  "  Ruler  of  the 
Moon/'  Being  now  pure  again,  and  having 
these  lovely  children,  Izanagi  rejoiced  and 


298  JAPANESE  FAIRY    WORLD. 

said,  "  I  have  begotten  child  upon  child,  and 
at  the  end  of  my  begetting,  I  have  begotten 
me  two  jewel-children."  Now  the  bright- 
ness of  the  person  of  the  maiden  Ama  Terasu 
was  beautiful,  and  shone  through  Heaven 
and  Earth.  Izanagi,  well  pleased,  said : 
"  Though  my  children  are  many,  none  of 
them  is  like  this  wonder-child.  She  must 
not  be  kept  in  this  region."  So  taking  off 
the  necklace  of  precious  stones  from  his 
neck  and  rattling  it,  he  gave  it  to  her,  say- 
ing, "  Rule  thou  over  the  High  Plain  of 
Heaven." 

At  that  time  the  distance  between  Heaven 
and  Earth  was  not  very  great,  and  he  sent 
her  up  to  the  blue  sky  by  the  Heaven-uniting 
Pillar,  on  which  the  Heavens  rested  like  a 
prop.  She  easily  mounted  it,  and  lived  in 
the  sun,  illuminating  the  whole  Heavens  and 
the  E^rth.     The  Sun  now  gradually  sepa- 


HEAVEN    AND    EARTH.  299 

rated  from  the  Earth,  and  both  moved  far- 
ther and  farther  apart  until  they  rested 
where  they  now  are. 

Izanagi  next  spoke  to  Susa  no  0  the 
Ruler  of  the  Moon,  and  said,  "Rule  thou 
over  the  new-born  Earth  and  the  blue  Waste 
of  the  Sea,  with  its  Multitudinous  Salt 
Waters." 

[So  then  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth  and 
Moon  were  created  and  inhabited.  And  as 
Japan  lay  directly  opposite  the  sun  when 
it  separated  from  the  Earth,  it  is  plain  that 
Japan  lies  on  the  summit  of  the  globe.  It 
is  easily  seen  that  all  other  countries  were 
formed  by  the  spontaneous  consolidation  of 
the  ocean  foam,  and  the  collection  of  mud 
in  the  various  seas.  The  stars  were  made 
to  guide  warriors  from  foreign  countries  to 
the  court  of  the  Mikado,  who  is  the  true  Son 
of  Heaven]. 


HOW     THE     SUN     GODDESS     WAS 
ENTICED   OUT  OF  HER  CAVE. 


(HEN  THE  far-shining  goddess, 
on  account  of  the  ^vil  pranks 
of  her  brother,  Susa  no  0,  the 
Ruler  of  the  Moon,  hid  herself 
in  a  cave,  there  was  no  more 
light,  and  heaven  and  earth  were  plunged 
into  darkness. 

A  council  of  all  the  gods  was  held  in  the 
dry  bed  of  one  of  the  rivers  [which  we  call 
the  Milky  Way]  in  the  fields  of  Heaven. 
The  question  of  how  to  appease  the  anger 
of  the  goddess  was  discussed.  A  long- 
headed and  very  wise  god  was   ordered   to 


%\m   BUN   GODDESS.  301 

tliink  out  a  plan  to  entice  her  forth  from 
the  cave. 

After   due  deliberation,  it  was   resolved 

that  a  looking-glass  should  be  made  to  tempt 
her  to  gaze  at  herself,  and  that  tricks  should 
be  played  to  arouse  her  curiosity  to  come 
out  and  see  what  was  going  on 

So  setting  to  work  with  a  will,  the  gods 
forged  and  polished  a  mirror,  wove  cloth  for 
beautiful  garments,  built  a  pavilion,  carved 
a  necklace  of  jewels,  made  wands*  and  tried 
an  augury. 

All  being  ready,  the  fat  and  rosy-cheeked 
goddess  of  mirth  with  face  full  of  dimples* 
and  eyes  full  of  fun,  named  Uzume,  was 
selected  to  lead  the  dance.  She  had  a  flute 
made  from  a  bamboo  cane  by  piercing  holes 
between  the  joints,  while  every  god  in  the 
givat  orchestra  had  a  pair  of  flat  hard  wood 
clappers,  which  he   struck  together* 

She  bound  up  her  long   flowing   sleeves 


802  JAPANESE  FAIRY   WORLD, 

with  a  creeper  vine,  and  made  for  herself 
a  baton  of  twigs  of  bamboo  grass,  by  which 
she  could  direct  the  motions  of  the  musi- 
cians. This  she  held  in  one  hand  while  in 
the  other  was  a  spear  wound  round  with 
grass,  on  which  small  bells  tinkled.  Great 
bonfires  were  lighted  in  front  of  the  cave, 
so  that  the  audience  of  gods  could  see  the 
dance.  A  large  circular  box  which  resound- 
ed like  a  drum  when  trod  on,  was  set  up  for 
Uzume  to  dance  upon.  The  row  of  cocks 
now  began  to  crow  in  concert. 

All  being  ready,  the  Strong-handed  god 
who  was  too  pull  the  sun-goddess  out  of  the 
cave,  as  soon  as  overcome  by  her  curiosity 
she  should  peep  forth,  hid  himself  beside 
the  stone  door  of  the  cave.  Uzume  mounted 
the  box  and  began  to  dance*  As  the  drum- 
box  resounded,  the  spirit  oi  folly  seized  her, 
and  she  began  to  chant  a  song, 


ME    SUN    GODDESS.  80S 

Becoming  still  more  foolish,  Uzume 
Waved  her  wand  wildly,  loosened  her  dress, 
and  danced  till  she  had  not  a  stitch  of  cloth- 
ing left  on  her.  The  gods  were  so  amused 
at  her  foolishness  that  they  all  laughed,  until 
the  heavens  shook  as  with  claps  of  thunder. 

The  Sun-goddess  within  the  cave  heard 
all  these  strange  noises  ;  the  crowing  of  the 
cocks,  the  hammering  on  the  anvil  the  chop- 
ping of  wood,  the  music  of  the  koto,  the 
clappering  of  the  hard  wood,  the  tinkling  of 
the  bells,  the  shouting  of  Uzume  and  the 
boisterous  laughter  of  the  gods.  Wondering 
what  it  all  meant,  she  peeped  out. 

As  she  did  so  the  Doubly  Beautiful 
goddess  held  up  the  mirror.. 

The  Far-Shining  one  seeing  her  own  face 
in  it  was  greatly  astonished.  Curiosity  got 
the  better  of  fear.  She  looked  far  out, 
Instantly  the  strong-handed  god  pulled  the 


504  JAPANESE  Mlitf  WOKLth 

rocky  door  open,  and  seizing  her  hand^ 
dragged  her  forth.  Then  all  the  heavens 
and  earth  were  lightened,  the  trees  and 
grass  became  green  again,  and  the  goddess 
of  colors  resumed  her  work  of  tinting  the 
flowers.  The  gloom  fled  from  all  eyes,  and 
human  beings  again  became  "  white-faced." 
Thus  the  calamity  which  had  befallen 
heaven  and  earth,  by  the  sun-goddess  hiding 
in  the  cave  became  a  means  of  much  benefit 
to  mortals.  For  by  their  necessity  the  gods 
were  compelled  to  invent  the  arts  of  metal- 
working,  weaving,  carpentery,  jeweling  and 
many  other  useful  appliances  for  the  human 
race.  They  also  on  this  occasion  first  made 
use  of  music,  dancing,  the  Dai  Kagura  (The 
comedy  which  makes  the  gods  laugh)  and 
many  of  the  games  which  the  children  play 

at  the  present  time.      »^+<f^J[yi^. 

-  the 


lYBB^ITy 


t . ' 


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